DRUGS AND AGGRESSION - CORRELATIONS, CRIME AND HUMAN MANIPULATIVE STUDIES AND SOME PROPOSED MECHANISMS

Violence and drugs seem to mix readily. In this paper, relevant correl ational studies are briefly reviewed and methodological issues are dis cussed. With a focus on alcohol, facts pointing to some type of causal relationship are presented both from crime and laboratory manipulativ e studies. Dose and rate-dependent anxiolytic, psychomotor stimulant a nd alteration in inhibitory and problem-solving cognitive functions ar e each in turn seen as precipatory to aggression. Drugs other than alc ohol which interact with these systems are also discussed.