Alcohol and aggression

Why does alcohol often lead to fights, arguments and aggression?

Drinking alcohol can make us act in ways we wouldn’t normally, including being angry or aggressive.

Experts believe the reason some people become aggressive when drunk is due to the way alcohol affects the brain.¹

Binge drinking increases the likelihood of both becoming aggressive or angry and also being on the receiving end of someone else's temper.²

How alcohol contributes to aggression

The impact of drinking alcohol on aggressive or violent behaviour is complex.^3,4,5

Many people who drink are never violent and even those who do become aggressive won't do so all the time. But there is strong evidence of a link between alcohol and aggression.

There are several ways that alcohol affects your body that can contribute to aggression:^6,7

Alcohol can narrow your attention and stop you seeing the big picture
You may miss social and environmental cues that help you to interpret situations rationally (known as ‘alcohol myopia’), and give less attention to the wider consequences of immediate actions.^8,9 This means someone who’s drunk might ‘rise to the bait’ rather than thinking of the consequences, and become angry or violent, even over something they would normally shrug off.
The way you process information is affected by drinking alcohol
After drinking alcohol, you are more likely to misinterpret other people's behaviour.¹⁰ This could be the reason why drunken fights can start over little more than bumping into someone at a bar.
Alcohol supresses inhibition, making it harder to think straight
Drinking affects your brain chemistry. Small amounts of alcohol can cause initial feelings of relaxation, but what’s actually happening is that alcohol is suppressing activity in parts of the brain associated with inhibition.¹¹ Any warning signals that may normally kick in (‘inhibition’) are less likely to work, and you may be more likely to find yourself in confrontational or even dangerous situations. The more you drink the higher the chance it can cause feelings of tension and anxiety (because of effects on brain chemicals including ‘GABA’).^12,13

Tools to reduce your drinking

The impact of alcohol-related violence

There were 525,000 incidents of violent crime in England and Wales in 2019/20 where the victim believed the offender was under the influence of alcohol – more than two in every five (42%) recorded violent incidents.¹⁴

Partner violence

Studies also show that there is a clear link between alcohol use and intimate partner violence – which is any form or physical, sexual or psychological violence against a current or former partner.^{15,16,17,18,19}

One study found three out of ten couples (30%) who reported intimate partner violence said alcohol was involved. And when that intimate partner violence was severe, people were more than twice as likely to say alcohol was involved.²⁰

Women are at a higher risk of harm against them by a male partner who has been drinking than vice versa.^21,22

Most seriously, substance use - including alcohol - was mentioned as a factor in just over half of intimate partner homicides.²³

Children

Others can be affected by alcohol-related violence too, including wider family and friends as well as children.

According to The Children’s Society, 39% of children living with a parent or carer with problematic alcohol use were in a household where there had been domestic violence in the last five years. These children are almost three times more likely to be in a home affected by domestic violence than those who aren’t exposed to problem drinking by a parent or carer.²⁴

If you have been the victim of violent or aggressive behaviour, report it to the police. Call 999 if anyone is in immediate danger, 101 it it’s not an emergency, or you can report crime to the police online.

Staying in control

Cutting down on alcohol can help you stay in control. And cutting down or stopping has lots of other benefits too, for your physical and mental health. Try these tips to get started.

Follow the UK low risk drinking guidelines

If you decide to drink alcohol, the UK Chief Medical Officers’ (CMOs) low risk drinking guidelines advise it’s safest for men and women to drink no more than 14 units a week, spread evenly over three or more days with several drink-free days.

Take the Drinking Check

Never binge drink

As well as being linked to aggression (and making it more likely you could be on the receiving end), binge drinking harms your physical and mental health. One way to have a bit less is to alternate alcoholic drinks with a soft drink or water.

How much is a ‘binge’?

Have plenty of drink-free days

There's lots of ways to enjoy more drink-free days - from easy activities to get in shape to simple tips to help you stay on track when temptation strikes. And we’ve got the advice that can help you get started.

Ideas for drink-free days

Cut down together with your partner or friends

Even if you don’t find drinking makes you aggressive, you might find drinking sometimes leads to an argument. So, why not cut down together and enjoy all the benefits that it can bring.

How to cut down with someone else

Alcohol support services

If you are concerned that you or someone you care about has a problem with alcohol there is a lot of help available. Here you can find useful links and phone numbers to get the support you need.

Get support

Further advice and information

Arming yourself with strategies and tips can help you or a loved one take small steps towards big results.

Does alcohol make you argue with your partner? Alcohol dependence Worried about someone else's drinking I would like to reduce my drinking

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References

[1] Parrott, D.J. and Eckhardt, C.I. (2018). Effects of alcohol on human aggression. Current Opinion in Psychology, 19, 1-5.

[2] Sundin, E., Landberg, J., Galanti, M. R., Room, R., & Ramstedt, M. (2022). Country-Level Heavy Episodic Drinking and Individual-Level Experiences of Harm from Others' Drinking-Related Aggression in 19 European Countries. European addiction research, 28(2), 134–142. https://doi.org/10.1159/000520079

[3] Ito, T. A., Miller, N., & Pollock, V. E. (1996). Alcohol and aggression: A meta-analysis on the moderating effects of inhibitory cues, triggering events, and self-focused attention. Psychological Bulletin, 120(1), 60-82.

[4] Parrott, D.J. and Eckhardt, C.I. (2018). Effects of alcohol on human aggression. Current Opinion in Psychology, 19, 1-5.

[5] Chermack, S.T. and Giancola, P.R. (1997). The relation between alcohol and aggression: An integrated biopsychosocial conceptualization. Clinical Psychology Review, 17(6), 621-649.

[6] Heinz, A.J., Beck, A., Meyer-Lindenberg, A., Sterzer, P. and Heinz, A. (2011). Cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms of alcohol-related aggression. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12(7), 400-413.

[7] Giancola, P.R. (2015). Development and evaluation of theories of alcohol-related violence: covering a 40-year span. Substance use and Misuse, 50(8-9), 1182-1187.

[8] Steele, C.M. and Josephs, R.A. (1990). Alcohol myopia: its prized and dangerous effects. American Psychologist, 45(8), 921.

[9] Heinz, A.J., Beck, A., Meyer-Lindenberg, A., Sterzer, P. and Heinz, A. (2011). Cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms of alcohol-related aggression. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12(7), 400-413.

[10] Giancola, P.R., Josephs, R.A., Parrott, D.J. and Duke, A.A. (2010). Alcohol myopia revisited: Clarifying aggression and other acts of disinhibition through a distorted lens. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(3), 265-278.

[11] Gan, G., Guevara, A., Marxen, M., Neumann, M., Jünger, E., Kobiella, A., Mennigen, E., Pilhatsch, M., Schwarz, D., Zimmermann, U.S. and Smolka, M.N. (2014). Alcohol-induced impairment of inhibitory control is linked to attenuated brain responses in right fronto-temporal cortex. Biological Psychiatry, 76(9), 698-707.

[12] Cosci, F., Schruers, K. R., Abrams, K., & Griez, E. J. (2007). Alcohol use disorders and panic disorder: a review of the evidence of a direct relationship. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 68(6)

[13] Gimeno, C., Dorado, M. L., Roncero, C., Szerman, N., Vega, P., Balanzá-Martínez, V., & Alvarez, F. J. (2017). Treatment of Comorbid Alcohol Dependence and Anxiety Disorder: Review of the Scientific Evidence and Recommendations for Treatment. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 8, 173. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00173

[14] Office for National Statistics. (2019). Nature of crime tables, violence. Table 10. [Accessed 26 March 2020]. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/natureofcrimetablesviolence

[15] Gil-Gonzalez, D., Vives-Cases, C., Alvarez-Dardet, C. and Latour-Pérez, J. (2006). Alcohol and intimate partner violence: do we have enough information to act? The European Journal of Public Health, 16(3), 278-284.

[16] Cafferky, B.M., Mendez, M., Anderson, J.R. and Stith, S.M. (2018). Substance use and intimate partner violence: A meta-analytic review. Psychology of Violence, 8 (1), 110-131.

[17] Spencer, C.M., Stith, S.M. and Cafferky, B. (2019). Risk markers for physical intimate partner violence victimization: A meta-analysis. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 44, 8-17.

[18] Eckhardt, C.I., Parrott, D.J. and Sprunger, J.G. (2015). Mechanisms of alcohol-facilitated intimate partner violence. Violence Against Women, 21(8), 939-957.

[19] García-Moreno, C., Pallitto, C., Devries, K., Stöckl, H., Watts, C. and Abrahams, N. (2013). Global and regional estimates of violence against women: prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence. World Health Organization, Geneva.

[20] McKinney, C.M., Caetano, R., Rodriguez, L.A. and Okoro, N., (2010). Does alcohol involvement increase the severity of intimate partner violence? Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 34(4), 655-658.

[21] Stanesby, O., Callinan, S., Graham, K., Wilson, I.M., Greenfield, T.K., Wilsnack, S.C., Hettige, S., Hanh, H.T.M., Siengsounthone, L., Waleewong, O. and Laslett, A.-M. (2018). Harm from known others' drinking by relationship proximity to the harmful drinker and gender: A meta-analysis across 10 countries. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 42 (9), 1693-1703

[22] Laslett, A.M., Jiang, H. and Room, R. (2017). Alcohol's involvement in an array of harms to intimate partners. Drug and Alcohol Review, 36(1), 72-79.

[23] ‘It’s everywhere’ – alcohol’s public face and private harm. The report of the Commission on Alcohol Harm (2020). Available at: https://ahauk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Its-Everywhere-Commission-on-Alcohol-Harm-final-report.pdf

[24] Home Office (2016) Domestic Homicide Reviews: Key findings from analysis of domestic homicide reviews] session, 30 March 2020. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-findings-from-analysis-of-domestic-homicide-reviews/key-findings-from-analysis-of-domestic-homicide-reviews

Last Reviewed: 28th September 2022

Next Review due: 28th September 2025

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