Alcohol and aggression

Alcohol is often linked to violence and anti-social behaviour. But does alcohol itself make you more aggressive? And why do a couple of drinks sometimes lead to a fight – even between mates and loved ones? We explore the relationship between alcohol and aggression.

It’s Saturday night in any British town or city centre. The pubs are closing and the flashing blue lights of police vans and ambulances light up the streets. The emergency services are breaking up a fight and carrying the injured away for treatment. What started off as a great night out has ended in a violent argument.

Around 23,000 (1) alcohol-related incidents such as street fights, bar brawls, breaches of the peace and drunk and disorderly conduct take place in the UK every week. More than half of all violent crime is committed by offenders who are drunk (2) and more than a third happens in and around pubs and clubs (3).

Just what is it about drinking that so often leads to violence?

Alcohol’s effects

Drinking does put you at a greater risk of losing your temper. Experts believe the reason some people become confrontational when drunk is due to the way alcohol affects the brain.

“Alcohol reduces our ability to think straight,” says Professor McMurran, a psychologist at the University of Nottingham who has researched the relationship between alcohol and aggression. “It narrows our focus of attention and gives us tunnel vision. This means that if someone provokes us while we’re drunk, we’re very sensitive to that threat.

“Normally we might take other factors into account – for example the consequences of rising to the bait – but when we’ve been drinking we tend to focus on just one thing at a time. This can lead to violent reactions from people who would usually shrug things off.”

Alcohol also affects the way we process information. When we’ve been drinking we’re more likely to misinterpret other people’s behaviour and misread social cues. This could be the reason why so many drunken fights start over little more than a ‘dirty look’.

When we’re drunk we’re more likely to take risks. This can lead to confrontations with others who are acting aggressively. “Alcohol reduces anxiety,” says Professor McMurran. “This is one of the reasons we enjoy drinking, but anxiety actually protects us by telling us to avoid or escape certain situations. When we’re drunk, this warning system doesn’t work and this can put us in dangerous or confrontational situations.”

Drinking environment

Sometimes the environment you’re drinking in can increase the chances of both becoming aggressive and of being exposed to alcohol-fuelled violence. Packed, noisy bars may be popular but over-crowding and loud music can be triggers for violent encounters. Bumping into people or spilling someone’s drink can all too often lead to a confrontation, especially when loud music drowns out an apology. Michael Biggs is the director of Bar Futures, an organisation that works to reduce violence in British city centres after dark. He believes the drinking environment has a big impact on people’s behaviour.

“There are certain friction points built into the design of some pubs,” he says. “When you have lots of people drinking in a confined space, pushing past each other trying to get to the bar or toilet, this will increase frustration, which in turn can lead to aggression.  Some venues also have a highly charged atmosphere and this increases people’s expectations of encountering aggressive behaviour. Poor design of pubs and clubs really can contribute to alcohol-related violence and aggression.”

Venues that attract large groups of young men are more also likely to witness aggressive behaviour than those with mixed groups and couples, while venues that offer some form of entertainment rather than just drinking are less likely to see fights and skirmishes.

Avoiding aggressive encounters

The majority of people who drink are never violent and even those who do become aggressive won’t do so all the time. Still, losing your cool over something as simple as a spilled drink is never a good look.

Binge drinking increases the likelihood of both becoming aggressive and of being on the receiving end of someone else’s temper (4) use the government's daily unit guidelines as guidance on how much to drink. The government's guidelines advise that women should not regularly exceed 2-3 units (equivalent to a 175ml glass of 13% wine) and that men should not regularly exceed 3-4 units (equivalent to a pint and a half of 4% beer). A good way to keep track of how much you’re drinking is using our MyDrinkaware tool.

Think about trying a different pub if your usual hangout is regularly visited by the emergency services. There’s no reason why a good night has to end in trouble. For more tips on enjoying a night out visit our Why let good times go bad? area.

References

1. Richardson, A. and Budd, T. (2003) Alcohol, crime and disorder: a

study of young adults, Home Office Research Study 263, London.

2. www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs04/r214.pdf

3. as above

4. as above

Page last updated by

Unknown, 10 May 2012.

Page checked on

14 Apr 2010