Does the Link Between Alcohol Use and Violence Change As Youth Move from Early Adolescence to Young Adulthood?

Background and Purpose. There is ample evidence of a link between alcohol use and violent behavior, but important questions remain regarding the stability of this relationship across the developmental spectrum of adolescence and young adulthood.  Specifically, is the association between alcohol use and violence stronger during the early adolescent years, when the prevalence of alcohol use is markedly lower?  Or is there a stronger relationship between alcohol use and violence during the latter stages of adolescence or in young adulthood, when binge alcohol use reaches its developmental pinnacle?  Additionally, is it any use of alcohol (i.e., 1 or more drinks) or is it binge alcohol use (i.e., 5 or more drinks) that is more closely related to aggression and violent encounters?  The current study examines the aforementioned questions among a national birth cohort of American youth from age 12 (2002) to ages 24-25 (2013).

Methods. Data were derived from a population-based study (National Survey on Drug Use and Health [NSDUH]) of adolescents and young adults ages 12-25 (N = 438,828) in the United States between 2002 and 2013. In order to simulate a cohort experience, we utilize the novel “Mutoscope” approach in which, beginning with 12-year-old respondents in 2002 (n = 3111), we progressively selected members of this birth cohort (e.g., 13-year-olds in 2003, 14-year-olds in 2004, and so on) to the present date (i.e., 24/25-year-olds in 2013). This approach reduces potential measurement reactivity and interdependence to a minimum and sidesteps potential attrition problems faced by attempting to reassess a large, nationally representative cohort (see Seedall & Anthony, 2014). Involvement in violence was measured by asking respondents: “During the past 12 months, how many times have you attacked someone with the intent to seriously hurt them?”  Controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, household income, and illicit drug use, binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between alcohol use and violent behavior between the ages of 12 and 24/25 years.

Results. The prevalence of alcohol use—both non-binge and binge use—steadily increased from age 12 before leveling off during the latter stages of young adulthood (ages 21-24/25).  The prevalence of violent attacks was much steadier with slight increases observed between ages 12-17 before finding its pinnacle at age 18 and reducing to its lowest levels by age 24-25. Controlling for sociodemographic factors and illicit drug use, we see that the link between non-binge alcohol use and violent behavior is significant at age 13 (AOR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.04-3.72), but the relationship ceases to be significant thereinafter. In contrast, the association between binge alcohol use and violent behavior is significant at age 13 (AOR = 2.92, 95% CI = 1.49-5.72) and remains significant up to age 20 (AOR = 1.91, 95% CI = 1.11-3.28).

Conclusions and Implications. The present study provides new evidence as to the developmental associations between alcohol use and violent behavior among adolescents and young adults. Findings suggest that the prevention of binge alcohol use may have implications for violence prevention, particularly during early-to-middle adolescence.