The Influence of Being under the Influence: Alcohol Effects on Adolescent Violence

The authors examine the relationship between intoxication, chronic alcohol use, and violent behavior using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The authors introduce a method for disentangling spuriousness from the causal effects of situational variables. Their results suggest that drinkers are much more likely to commit violence while sober than non-drinkers, suggesting that a considerable portion of the relationship between prevalence of drinking and violence is spurious. The authors find evidence of a causal effect of intoxication, however, when they examine the relationship between frequency of drinking and violence while sober or drinking. Intoxication has stronger effects on adolescents who are older, White, and who already have violent tendencies.