WELLS, SAMANTHA L.
GRAHAM, KATHRYN
SPEECHLEY, MARK
KOVAL, JOHN J.
Do Predisposing and Family Background Characteristics Modify or Confound the Relationship Between Drinking Frequency and Alcohol-Related Aggression? A Study of Late Adolescent and Young Adult Drinkers
Addictive Behaviors 31,4 (April 2006): 661-675
Cohort(s): NLSY79 Young Adult
ID Number: 5226
Publisher: Elsevier

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The present study examined whether predisposing and family background characteristics confounded (common cause/general deviance theory) or modified (conditional/interactive theory) the association between drinking frequency and alcohol-related aggression. A secondary analysis of the US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth was conducted using a composite sample of drinkers, ages 17 to 21, from the 1994, 1996, and 1998 Young Adult surveys (n =602). No evidence of confounding of the relationship between drinking frequency and alcohol-related aggression was found. In addition, predisposing characteristics did not modify the association between drinking frequency and alcohol-related aggression. However, family background variables (mother's education and any poverty) were important explanatory variables for alcohol-related aggression among males, whereas recent aggression (fights at school or work) was an important predictor for females. Overall, lack of support for the conditional/interactive and common cause theories of the alcohol and aggression relationship suggests that alcohol has an independent explanatory role in alcohol-related aggression. In addition, the gender differences found in the present study highlight the need for more gender-focussed [sic] research on predictors of alcohol-related aggression, especially among adolescents and young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR; Copyright 2006 Elsevier]

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