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Moderators of the Dynamic Link Between Alcohol Use and Aggressive Behavior among Adolescent Males

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Abstract

Although longitudinal evidence has linked alcohol use with aggressive behavior during adolescence, most studies have failed to adequately control for the numerous between-individual differences that may underlie this association. In addition, few studies of adolescents have examined whether the nature of the within-individual association between alcohol use and aggression depends on individual and contextual factors. To address these limitations, this study examined the association between within-individual changes in alcohol use and aggressive behavior across adolescence and determined whether impulsive behavior, positive attitudes toward violence, violent peers, neighborhood crime, and race moderated this association. Data from 971 adolescent males assessed annually from ages 13 to 18 were analyzed using a within-individual regression panel model that eliminated all stable between-individual factors as potential confounds. Findings indicated that within-individual increases in alcohol use quantity from one’s own typical levels of drinking were concurrently associated with within-individual increases in aggressive behavior, and vice versa. However, increases in alcohol were more strongly linked to increases in aggressive behavior among boys with attitudes favoring violence and those who lived in high-crime neighborhoods. The association between alcohol and aggressive behavior was similar for White and Black young men. Interventions designed to reduce aggressive behaviors should consider targeting not only alcohol use, but also individual and environmental risk factors that contribute to this link.

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Notes

  1. Other illicit drug use was dichotomized given the limited amount of other drug use in this sample during adolescence (Lee et al. 2010).

  2. Skewness of the within-individual alcohol and aggressive behavior changes scores was less than 1 (−0.11 to 0.38), and for all time-invariant variables, except peer violence (1.69), was less than 1 (−0.07 to 0.73), suggesting non-normality was not a concern for the current models.

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Acknowledgments

Preparation of this paper was supported, in part, by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (ARRA R01 AA 016798, R01 AA 019511), National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01 DA411018), the National Institute of Mental Health (P30 MH079920; R01 MH73941; R01 MH 50778; 1K01MH078039), the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (96-MU-FX-0012; OJJDP 2005-JK-FX-0001); the Department of Health of the Commonwealth of the State of Pennsylvania, and a grant from the Centers for Disease Control (administered through OJJDP). Dustin Pardini was supported by a grant from National Institute of Mental Health (K01MH078039). Points of view in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. We would like to thank Kristen McCormick for her help with the data set, Kathy Conyers, Courtney Cronley, and Patricia Simon for help with the references, and three anonymous reviewers for their suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers University, 607 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854-8001, USA

    Helene Raskin White & Eun-Young Mun

  2. Clinical Child Psychology Program, Kansas University, 2010 Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA

    Paula Fite

  3. Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh, Sterling Plaza, Suite 408, 201 North Craig Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Dustin Pardini & Rolf Loeber

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  1. Helene Raskin White
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Correspondence to Helene Raskin White.

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White, H.R., Fite, P., Pardini, D. et al. Moderators of the Dynamic Link Between Alcohol Use and Aggressive Behavior among Adolescent Males. J Abnorm Child Psychol 41, 211–222 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-012-9673-0

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