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Effects of alcohol intoxication and aggressivity on aggressive verbalizations during anger arousal
Author(s) -
Eckhardt Christopher I.,
Crane Cory
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
aggressive behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.223
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1098-2337
pISSN - 0096-140X
DOI - 10.1002/ab.20249
Subject(s) - anger , aggression , psychology , poison control , moderation , alcohol intoxication , injury prevention , arousal , human factors and ergonomics , suicide prevention , sexual arousal , interpersonal communication , clinical psychology , occupational safety and health , developmental psychology , social psychology , medicine , medical emergency , pathology
We examined the moderating effect of dispositional aggressivity on the relationship between alcohol intoxication and aggressive verbalizations. Using a laboratory anger‐induction task that simulated an interpersonal conflict as a method to assess aggressive verbalizations (the articulated thoughts in simulated situations paradigm), 70 participants (33 women, 37 men) consumed either an alcoholic or a placebo beverage, and then imagined a series of audiorecorded interpersonal scenarios. Two blind‐to‐condition raters assessed the frequency of participants' aggressive verbalizations (insults, aggressive threats, belligerent provocations) articulated during anger arousal. Aggressivity was assessed using a standard measure of dispositional aggression. Results supported the aggressivity moderation hypothesis: intoxicated participants high in aggressivity responded with significantly more aggressive verbalizations relative to low‐aggressivity participants regardless of beverage condition, and three times more aggressive verbalizations relative to the high‐aggressivity/placebo group. There were no gender effects. These data support the hypothesis that alcohol potentiates aggression primarily among individuals at dispositional risk for engaging in such a behavior. Aggr. Behav. 34:428–436, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.