Anger and alcohol use: a dangerous combination

Abstract

Anger and alcohol each individually lead to negative consequences, suggesting a group who may be particularly at risk - those who combine high levels of anger and alcohol. This study compared the frequency and types of alcohol- and anger-related consequences among college students who were either high or low in general anger and who reported drinking to the point of intoxication or not. Specifically, this study tested if those high anger, intoxicated individuals experienced more anger- and alcohol-related consequences than other groups. A 2 (Gender) x 2 (High-low anger status) x 2 (Intoxication/non-intoxication status) design was used to explore how these variables relate to anger- and alcohol-related consequences. Few gender differences were found in regards to trait anger level and anger expression. However, females were more likely to experience an anger-related consequence and reported experiencing more of the negative emotion and damaging relationship type consequences due to their anger than males. Males, on the other hand, were more likely to be involved in property damage due to their anger. Men and women experienced comparable numbers of alcohol consequences with a relatively similar frequency of physical,' aggressive, and self-harm consequences. High anger individuals reported a tendency to express their anger in an inward or outward manner as well as experienced greater frequencies of anger- and alcohol-related consequences than low anger individuals. In addition, intoxicated individuals were more likely to experience alcohol- and anger-related consequences than non-intoxicated individuals. High anger, intoxicated individuals reported a much higher frequency of both anger- and alcohol-related consequences, regardless of their gender. Two different series of hierarchical regressions were run: (1) regressions on the alcohol-related consequences and (2) regressions on the anger-related consequences. Anger and anger expression added the most predicted variance for anger-related consequences, although in several instances intoxication and gender added additional predictive variance. Frequency of intoxication was the main contributing factor for the majority of alcohol consequences, whereas trait anger and anger expression variables added additional variance. Results were discussed in terms of convergent and discriminant validity and implications for theory and treatment planning.