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There is an increasing focus on evaluating the effectiveness of Relationship Education (RE) programs on reducing relationship aggression. Nevertheless, there has been little by way of a systematic quantitative synthesis of research to date. The primary aim of this research was to conduct a meta-analysis into the effects of RE programs on relationship aggression and provide a comprehensive assessment as to the moderating effects of various methodological characteristics of studies. A secondary aim was to determine whether RE programs reduce negative aspects of relationship functioning that are known to exacerbate relationship aggression. Thirty-one studies (n = 25,527) were included comprising of pre-post comparison studies and control trials. Overall, RE programs were significantly associated with reductions in relationship aggression (d = 0.11, p = .001). Pre-post studies yielded a significantly larger effect size (d = 0.28, p < .001) than RCT studies (d = 0.05, p = .10). Subgroup analysis revealed that participants who reported moderate to severe relationship aggression upon RE program entry demonstrated large reductions in physical (d = 0.66, p = .01) and psychological (d = 0.85, p < .001) aggression compared to those who reported minimal to low relationship aggression on entry (physical aggression d = 0.07, p = .009; psychological aggression d = -0.04; p = .17). Amongst participants who reported moderate to severe relationship aggression, RE programs were also found to reduce controlling behavior (d = 0.20, p < .01) and conflict behavior (d = 0.40, p < .001). Findings demonstrate the emerging efficacy of RE programs for reducing relationship aggression and conflict behavior, particularly in those with a history of moderate to severe levels of relationship aggression., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: This study describes the frequency and characteristics of aggression and/or violence in ambulance attendances involving alcohol, illicit and/or pharmaceutical drug use in Victoria, Australia between January 2012 and January 2017., Methods: Patient characteristics, context, and substance use involvement in ambulance attendances were examined to determine associations with attendances where aggression and/or violence was recorded., Results: There were 205,178 ambulance attendances where use of alcohol, pharmaceutical drugs or illicit substances contributed to the reason for the attendance. Paramedics recorded acts of aggression and/or violence in 11,813 (5.76 %) of these attendances. Aggression/violence was more likely to be recorded in certain contexts. Compared with attendances where aggression/violence was not recorded, attendances where aggression/violence was recorded were significantly more likely to involve younger and male patients, and occur on Friday and Saturday nights. Alcohol intoxication was involved in more than half of attendances where aggression/violence was recorded, and was almost twice as prevalent as those involving illicit drug use where aggression/violence was recorded. This pattern was consistent across all hours, high-alcohol hours only, by metropolitan/regional location, and by police co-attendance., Conclusions: Aggression and violence are frequently recorded in ambulance attendances involving alcohol, pharmaceutical drugs or illicit substances, and, most often involve alcohol. This violence poses a recurring threat to the health and safety of paramedics, bystanders, and patients. Greater priority should be given to reducing alcohol-related violence through evidence-based policy measures targeting high-risk groups (e.g. young adult males) and contexts (e.g. weekends, late at night) where harm is most likely to occur., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction and Aims: Associations between substance use and aggression may be amplified by simultaneous alcohol and illicit drug use. This study aims to compare differences in involvement in past aggression between people who use different substances while accounting for broader risk propensity., Design and Methods: Self-reported data on past three-month involvement in verbal and physical aggression (victim or perpetrator) were drawn from interviews conducted in night-time entertainment districts in seven Australian cities (n = 5078). Using inverse probability of treatment weighting techniques, participants who reported alcohol versus alcohol and illicit drug use on the night of interview (including ecstasy, cannabis and other illicit stimulant subgroups) were weighted on the basis of drug use risk covariates (e.g. alcohol consumed, gender) to determine differences in involvement in aggression involvement., Results: After weighting for covariates, individuals who reported consuming any illicit drug + alcohol and ecstasy + alcohol combinations were more likely to be involved in physical (33% and 105%, respectively) and verbal (36% and 116%, respectively) aggression in the previous 3-months when compared to those who consumed alcohol only. Cannabis + alcohol and other illicit stimulant + alcohol combinations were no more likely to be involved in either forms of aggression., Discussion and Conclusions: The likelihood of having been involved in past aggressive incidents was higher among those who reported any illicit drug + alcohol and ecstasy + alcohol combinations than those who reported alcohol exclusively, after accounting for covariates. These findings highlight individuals that may benefit most from the development of tailored health promotion/preventative safety interventions in night-time settings., (© 2019 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.)

Introduction and Aims: The current study aimed to examine the association between patron demographics and substance use, and experiences of verbal and physical aggressive incidents within the last 3 months among patrons of night-time entertainment precincts (NEP) in Australia., Design and Methods: Patron interviews (n = 4216) were conducted around licensed venues in the NEPs of five Australian cities. Seven correlates of verbal and physical aggressive incidents were examined: gender, age, occupation, blood alcohol concentration, pre-drinking, energy drink use and illicit drug use in the current session., Results: A total of 7.5% and 8.2% of respondents reported involvement in a verbally and physically aggressive incident in the past 3 months, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression models indicated men and people <25 years old were significantly more likely to report both verbal and physical aggressive incidents. A significant occupation effect showed lower levels of both verbal and physical aggression in managers/professionals compared with non-office workers. The likelihood of being involved in a verbally aggressive incident significantly increased with energy drink consumption, while the likelihood of being involved in a physically aggressive incident significantly increased with blood alcohol concentration, energy drink consumption and illicit drug use., Discussion and Conclusions: This study highlights the different correlates of verbal and physical aggression within NEPs, suggesting they should be viewed as distinct types of violence, rather than points on a continuum. Major modifiable correlates with verbal and physical aggression included intoxication, energy drink consumption, and illicit drug use, suggesting the need for further interventions and policy development to address these key issues. [Hyder S, Coomber K, Pennay A, Droste N, Curtis A, Mayshak R, Lam T, Gilmore W, Chikritzhs T, Miller PG. Correlates of verbal and physical aggression among patrons of licensed venues in Australia. Drug Alcohol Rev 2018;37:6-13]., (© 2017 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.)

Objectives: To review the current research on alcohol-related violence and sports participation., Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were used to identify relevant studies for inclusion. A search of six databases (EBSCOhost) was conducted., Results: A total of 6890 studies was were identified in the initial search. Of these, 11 studies met the inclusion criteria. The majority of the studies were from the US (n=10) and focused on collegiate athletes (n=7), adolescents (n=3), professional/former professional athletes (n=1)., Conclusion: The reviewed research indicates higher rates of alcohol use and violence in athlete populations when compared against non-athlete populations. Masculinity, violent social identity and antisocial norms connected to certain sports stand out as potential factors that may impact the association between sport and violence in athlete populations., (Copyright © 2013 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: There is no empirical research on alcohol-related aggression and antisocial behaviour in non-US collegiate athletes. The present study addressed this gap by examining these behaviours in Australian university sportspeople., Design: Cross-sectional., Methods: University sportspeople and non-sportspeople completed questionnaires on alcohol consumption, aggressive and antisocial behaviours (e.g., abused, hit or assaulted someone, made unwanted sexual advance, damaged property) when intoxicated. Participants also reported whether they had been the victim of similar aggressive or antisocial behaviours. Demographic data and known confounders were collected., Results: Hierarchical logistic regression models accounting for confounders and alcohol consumption scores found that university sportspeople were significantly more likely than non-sportspeople to have displayed aggressive behaviour (i.e., insulted or assaulted someone; OR 1.65, 95% CI: 1.19, 2.28, p=.003), and damaged property (OR 1.98, 95% CI: 1.38, 2.84, p<.0005) in the past year when intoxicated. Sportspeople were no more likely to have received aggression, had property damaged due to others intoxication (OR 1.21, 95% CI: .90, 1.62, p=.20; and OR 1.10, 95% CI: .79, 1.53, p=.57, respectively), or to have made unwanted sexual advances (OR 1.10, 95% CI: .65, 1.83, p=.74). Sportspeople were less likely to have reported being sexually assaulted when intoxicated (OR .44, 95% CI: .23, .83, p<.01)., Conclusions: Consistent with work from the US alcohol-related aggressive and antisocial behaviours were greater in male Australian university sportspeople/athletes than in their female and non-sporting counterparts. There is a need for research explicating the interaction between alcohol, contextual and cultural aspects of sport, and sport participants., (Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)