Association between substance use disorders and self‐ and other‐directed aggression: An integrated model approach

Abstract

Our study's objective is to determine whether substance use disorders’ association with aggression differs according to the type of substance and/or the form of aggression, within the same population. We used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health across 2008–2014, with a pooled sample of 270,227 adult respondents. We used regression models to estimate the odds ratios for those having alcohol and/or drug use disorder(s) perpetrating (a) each form of aggression compared with no aggression and (b) other‐directed compared with self‐directed aggression. Alcohol use disorder alone and drug use disorder(s) alone were both associated with significantly increased odds of committing self‐directed, other‐directed, and combined aggression. Individuals with drug use disorder(s) alone were more likely to commit other‐directed than self‐directed aggression (adjusted odds ratio = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.04–2.05). Individuals with alcohol use disorder alone were not likely to commit one over the other (adjusted odds ratio = 1.20, 95% CI = 0.90–1.61). In conclusion, the integrated model of aggression based on the stress–diathesis model is a relevant framework to study risk factors for aggression. Further research is needed to identify longitudinal predictors of directionality of aggression.

Gender differences in aggression: A multiplicative function of outward anger expression

“…Future studies could investigate the relation among anger‐out, gender, and aggression in a clinical sample. For example, aggression frequently manifests in individuals with substance use disorder (Ghossoub et al, 2019), antisocial personality disorder (Mancke et al, 2018), posttraumatic stress disorder (Taft et al, 2017), and major depressive disorder (Liu & Cole, 2021). The relation among anger‐out, gender, and aggression also needs to be examined in a sample exhibiting high levels of aggression (e.g., violent offenders).…”

The inter-connections between self-harm and aggressive behaviours: A general network analysis study of dual harm

“…The study website contains details of all data items that are available in ALSPAC through a fully searchable data dictionary and variable search tool. 2 The items can be accessed by searching for specific codes (see Supplementary Material) in the variable search tool.…”

“…As such, it may be that the nature of harmful behaviours amongst adolescents is distinct to that of adults and an aetiological link between self-harm and aggression is less apparent amongst younger populations. Furthermore, harmful behaviours, including dual harm, have been shown to be more prevalent amongst clinical and forensic populations than among persons living in the community (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)15). Therefore, it may be that the associations between harmful behaviours are stronger in high-risk populations, such as those in forensic settings.…”

“…Rather than engage in self-harm or aggression (i.e., sole harm), some individuals will show both behaviours during their lifetime; this is referred to as dual harm (1). Up to 5% of individuals living in the community have been reported to engage in dual harm (2)(3)(4)(5). This figure rises to 11-15 and 19-56% in prisons and forensic mental health services, respectively, indicating that dual harm is of particular concern amongst forensic and criminal justice populations (6)(7)(8)(9)(10).…”

Zusammenhang zwischen Substanzkonsum und Zwangsmaßnahmen auf psychiatrischen Stationen

“…Auch der Substanzkonsum innerhalb der Partyszene liegt deutlich über dem anderer deutscher Städte und zeigt auch im internationalen Vergleich mit anderen Großstädten hohe Prävalenzen [2,26]. Der Zusammenhang von Alkoholkonsum und anderen Substanzgruppen mit aggressivem Verhalten (Selbstund Fremdaggression) ist bekannt und gut beschrieben [12]. Zudem gibt es einen Zusammenhang zwischen Substanzkonsum und akuten psychotischen Zustandsbildern, die wiederum mit aggressivem Verhalten in Verbindung stehen können […”