A COMPARISON OF ALCOHOL, DRUGS, AND AGGRESSIVE CRIME AMONG MEXICAN-AMERICAN, BLACK, AND WHITE MALE ARRESTEES IN TEXAS

Few comparative studies exist examining the relationship between subst ance abuse and aggressive behavior under different social conditions. We studied the relationship between aggressive crime and substance abu se among Mexican-American, black and white male arrestees in Dallas, H ouston, and San Antonio, Texas using existing 1992 Drug Use Forecastin g (DUF) data. The aim of the analysis was to predict the outcome of ag gressive crime from drug and alcohol-related and ethnic group variable s within the total male sample (n = 2,364). Results indicated that eth nicity was significantly related to aggressive crime. Mexican-American arrestees were more likely to be arrested for aggressive crimes than either blacks or whites. Drug and alcohol use effects were found acros s all ethnic groups. In general, the subgroup which drank frequently a nd tested positive for drug use was less likely to be charged with agg ressive crimes than the other subgroups. The psychopharmacological inf luence of alcohol as a disinhibitor and drugs as a inhibitor provides one explanation of the results. Specific ethnic subcultural and ecolog ical influences also affect the outcome. Our study strongly indicates the heterogeneous character of the drug using population in relation t o aggression. The variability between subculturally defined subgroups requires detailed ethnographic field studies in the future to describe the contexts of substance use and aggressive behavior.