Alcohol-Related Violence More Common in People Who Repress Anger

Many people believe that alcohol can cause normally peaceful people to become violent. New research shows that intoxication can indeed increase violence, but that the association is strongest for people who normally hold in their anger. In fact, according to this new study, people who do not habitually repress their anger are not likely to be more violent when drunk.

The new study was conducted by researchers at the Swedish Institute for Social Research at Stockholm University in Sweden and the Norwegian Institute for Alcohol and Drug Research in Oslo, Norway.

The two researchers used data on 3000 individuals who were assessed in their late teens (at age 16 or 17) and again at age 21 or 22. They evaluated people on their inclination to suppress their feelings of anger and divided the subjects into three groups for analysis based on the strength of their impulse to suppress angry feelings. They also interviewed the participants about involvement in violent episodes.

Those in the group who most often suppressed their angry feelings were more likely to be violent if they drank enough to become drunk. The researchers found no connection between drinking and violence for the people in the groups who did not normally suppress their anger.

The researchers conclude that their study does add to the growing body of literature that indicates that alcohol can be associated with violence, but they also note that very few episodes of drinking actually lead to violence. Perhaps most important is the finding that those who suppress their anger are at greatest risk.

The reason for the alcohol-violence link is not clear. It may be the case that a genetic predisposition toward drinking too much may be tied to another genetic predisposition toward violence. This does not, however, rule out the possibility that learning to process anger rather than repress it might reduce the risk of violent behavior. Clinicians and therapists should pay special attention to drinking habits and risk of violence in patients who have a tendency to repress anger.

The research, conducted by Thor Norström and Hilde Pape, was published online in a pre-print early view this week in the journal Addiction.