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Objective: The aim of this study was to provisionally develop an efficient screening method to detect adolescents at high risk for committing a violent act by young adulthood. In addition, the authors sought to use this screening instrument, in conjunction with child and parent psychopathology and substance abuse data, to determine the accuracy of violent outcome predictions. Method: The probands were men with a lifetime history of DSM-III-R substance use disorder (N = 38) and men with no adult psychiatric disorder (N = 61). Their biological sons were studied at two time points. At age 12-14, the offspring completed a 13-item Violence Proneness Scale, which was derived by using items from the revised Drug Use Screening Inventory. The occurrence of violent acts was then assessed at a follow-up evaluation when the offspring were 19 years of age. Results: Among the offspring, a DSM-III-R axis I psychiatric disorder and a Violence Proneness Scale score of 10 or higher at age 12-14 predicted a violent outcome by age 19. The overall accuracy of prediction was 77%. Sensitivity was 81%, and specificity was 76%. Substance use disorder or psychopathology in the probands or substance use frequency in the children did not contribute to the prediction of violence. Conclusions: The brief Violence Proneness Scale, which measures school and peer adjustment, in conjunction with a childhood psychiatric history may constitute an efficient screening procedure for identifying youth who are at high risk for committing acts of violence.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of subjective intoxication, alcohol‐aggression expectancies, and breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) on intoxicated aggression in men and women while controlling for dispositional aggressivity.

Background: Trait anger has been identified as a risk factor for alcohol‐related aggression. However, to develop a more accurate risk profile, it is necessary to examine the interactive relations between trait anger and other key personality variables. The present study examined the influence of anger control on alcohol‐related aggression.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of affective, behavioral, and cognitive components of trait anger on alcohol‐related aggression in men and women.

This article summarizes the proceedings of a symposium, chaired and co‐organized by Helene Raskin White and co‐organized by Peter R. Giancola, that was presented at the 2002 RSA Meeting in San Francisco. The goal of this symposium was to integrate findings from methodologically divergent studies on the topic of alcohol‐related aggression in humans. The investigators focused on isolating mediators and moderators of the alcohol‐aggression relationship. Peter R. Giancola presented laboratory data demonstrating how alcohol's acute effects on aggression are moderated by individual difference and contextual factors. Mitchell E. Berman presented laboratory data on alcohol's acute effects on self‐induced aggression. Helene Raskin White reviewed prospective data on how alcohol affects the intergenerational transmission of family violence. Stephen Chermack reviewed data on the impact of a family history of alcoholism and a family history of violence on the development of childhood behavioral problems and adult problems with drugs, alcohol, and violence. Finally, Kenneth E. Leonard presented data on personal and contextual factors influencing alcohol‐related barroom violence.

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of trait anger on alcohol‐related aggression in men and women.

Objective:The purpose of this article is to present an overview of the research literature on alcohol-related aggression with a focus on college students. Methods:Data from both survey studies and experimental laboratory investigations conducted on college students are reviewed. Various methodological approaches to studying the alcohol-aggression relation, and their associated limitations, are then presented and discussed. Results:The literature indicates that alcohol consumption facilitates aggressive behavior and increases the risk of being the victim of a violent act, particularly in heavy drinkers. Results from these studies are then placed into a context by reviewing 12 influential theories of aggression and alcohol-related aggression. On the basis of these theories and empirical data, a preliminary risk profile is presented to help identify which factors are likely to be important in predicting who will and who will not become aggressive after drinking alcohol. Conclusions:Although much research is still needed to elucidate the intricate causes of alcohol-related aggression, current prevention efforts might focus on modifying key risk factors such as poor cognitive functioning and inaccurate expectations about the effects of alcohol. Other prevention efforts directed specifically at college students might focus on helping them to identify risky situations that might facilitate the expression of intoxicated aggression.

This study had three aims: (1) to determine the relations between behavioral dysregulation, negative affectivity, and familial impairment with violence and suicidality (i.e., severity of ideation and attempts) in a sample of adolescent females with a psychoactive substance use disorder and controls; (2) to determine whether these relations are mediated by internalizing (depression/anxiety) and externalizing (nonviolent antisocial behavior) symptomatology; and (3) to determine whether severity of alcohol/drug use involvement moderates the relations between the mediating variables with violence and suicidality. Multiple behavioral, psychiatric interview, and self‐report measures were used to index behavioral dysregulation, negative affectivity, familial impairment, internalizing and externalizing symptomatology, and violence and suicidality in one hundred sixty‐one 14‐ to 18‐year‐old adolescent females with a psychoactive substance use disorder and in 80 controls. Structural equation modeling was used to determine the proposed relations. Results indicated that behavioral dysregulation, negative affectivity, and familial impairment were related to violence, whereas only familial impairment was related to suicidality. Internalizing symptomatology mediated the relation between familial impairment and suicidality, and was related to violence, whereas externalizing symptomatology mediated the relations between behavioral dysregulation, negative affectivity, and familial impairment with violence. Severity of alcohol/drug use involvement did not moderate the relations between internalizing or externalizing symptomatology with suicidality or violence. Nevertheless, the relation between internalizing symptomatology and suicidality was stronger in females with a greater degree of alcohol/drug use involvement, compared with those with a milder degree of involvement Therefore, from a prevention standpoint, behavioral dysregulation, negative affectivity, familial impairment, as well as internalizing and externalizing symptoms, may serve as clinical „points of intervention” for altering the development of violence and suicidality in high risk and substance abusing youth.