Diverse research on alcohol and aggression in humans: in memory of John A. Carpenter

This article summarizes the proceedings of a symposium, chaired and co-organized by Helene Raskin White and co-organized by Peter R. Giancola, that was presented at the 2002 RSA Meeting in San Francisco. The goal of this symposium was to integrate findings from methodologically divergent studies on the topic of alcohol-related aggression in humans. The investigators focused on isolating mediators and moderators of the alcohol-aggression relationship. Peter R. Giancola presented laboratory data demonstrating how alcohol's acute effects on aggression are moderated by individual difference and contextual factors. Mitchell E. Berman presented laboratory data on alcohol's acute effects on self-induced aggression. Helene Raskin White reviewed prospective data on how alcohol affects the intergenerational transmission of family violence. Stephen Chermack reviewed data on the impact of a family history of alcoholism and a family history of violence on the development of childhood behavioral problems and adult problems with drugs, alcohol, and violence. Finally, Kenneth E. Leonard presented data on personal and contextual factors influencing alcohol-related barroom violence.