THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ALCOHOL FOR VIOLENCE AND ACCIDENTS

For almost all types of accidents and violence, there is a causal rela tionship with alcohol intoxication or alcohol abuse. Alcohol may have significance as a risk factor for the perpetrator (culprit, car driver , etc.), as well as for the victim. This is especially clear in cases of violence and assault. Younger males are overrepresented in much of the data that shows causal relationships. A clear dose-response associ ation can be seen in many accident cases concerning both accident risk and severity. The correlation is not as clear in cases of violence. H owever, the causal relationships between alcohol and accidents or viol ence may be difficult to evaluate. Factors such as the abuse of other drugs, unemployment, and other sociodemographic factors must be taken into account. The populations studied are often selected, e.g., from e mergency departments, pathology units (postmortem data), or related to those epidemiological studies based on interviews. There is often a l ack of relevant control data.