The effects of a cumulative alcohol dosing procedure on laboratory aggression in women and men

Objective: This study directly compared the effects of cumulative alcohol d osing procedure on aggression in both women and men. Method: Thirteen women and 13 men consumed three beverages I hour apart. There were two experimen tal conditions: (1) a placebo day, when subjects consumed three 240 mi beve rages, each containing only 1 mi of alcohol; and (2) an alcohol day, when s ubjects consumed three 240 mi beverages, each containing 0.35 g/kg of 95% a lcohol. Alcohol doses for women were reduced by 8%. Prior to beverage consu mption, and periodically after consumption, subjects participated in 25-min ute laboratory testing sessions designed to measure aggression. In this par adigm, subjects could earn points by responding on a button, or aggress tow ard a fictitious opponent who ostensibly subtracted earnings from them. Res ults: Both women and men showed an increase in aggressive responding after drinking alcohol but not placebo. As a group the greatest increases were ob served after consuming the second alcohol drink (BAC = 0.08%). Aggressive r esponding, however, remained elevated for several hours after alcohol consu mption. A post hoc analysis of the data indicated that subjects with high a ggression levels under placebo conditions showed the greatest increases in aggression under alcohol conditions. Conclusions: These results indicate th at at least under these conditions, alcohol does increase aggression in bot h women and men. The aggression-increasing effects of alcohol appear to be long-lasting and specific to individuals with the higher aggressive tendenc ies while sober.