The effects of alcohol intoxication on aggressive responses in men and women

A considerable literature, clinical and experimental, has demonstrated the aggression-eliciting effects of alcohol intoxication. However, the focus of the experimental literature has been primarily on men and the studies on women have been inconclusive. This study was conducted to test for possible gender differences in the manifestation of alcohol-induced aggression. Participants were 54 males and 60 females, aged 18-30 years, who competed in a competitive aggression paradigm either sober or intoxicated. As expected, intoxicated men were more aggressive than their sober peers. However, under high provocation, both sober and intoxicated, women manifested aggression comparable to the intoxicated men. This study suggests that women can be as aggressive as men, and that alcohol intoxication does not seem to be as important a determining factor.