Evaluating theories of alcohol-related aggression using observations of young adults in bars

Aims. The objective of the present study is to evaluate 36 explanations of alcohol-related aggression that have been proposed in the research literatu re in terms of their relevance to naturally-occurring incidents of aggressi on involving alcohol. Design. The study involved content analysis of descri ptions of 105 incidents of aggression. Setting and participants. Bars frequ ented by young adults. Measurements. Step-by-step descriptions of incidents of aggression reported by researcher-observers based on 93 nights of obser vation in bars between midnight and 3 a.m. Findings. Some explanations rela ting to the effects of alcohol (e.g, focused on the present, reduced anxiet y about sanctions or danger, heightened emotionality) and the environment ( e.g. generally permissive environment, expectation by patrons that aggressi on will be tolerated) were found to be relevant to most incidents, while ot her explanations (e.g, crowding, release of pent-up anger) were directly re levant to only a few or no incidents. Incidents involving male-to-male aggr ession were more likely than incidents involving both males and females to be attributable to expectations, acceptance of aggression, power concerns, male honor and "macho" values. Principal components analysis identified fiv e groupings of explanations: risk-taking effects of alcohol, cognitive impa irment from alcohol, hyperemotional effects of alcohol, "macho" subculture, and permissive environment. Conclusions. The findings are consistent with a model of alcohol-related aggression that involves multiple contributing f actors including alcohol effects and situational contexts. The greater rele vance of certain explanations and the natural groupings of explanations poi nt to directions for future research.