Alcohol Use and Criminal Behavior - An Executive Summary

• NCJ Number: 80274
• Author(s): J J Collins
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 43 pages
• Grant Number(s): 78-NI-AX-0112
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: RTI International
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This monograph examines the relationship between the consumption of beverage alcohol and serious criminal behavior. It specifically considers the extent to and way in which alcohol consumption directly, indirectly, or in combination with other factors increases the likelihood of serious personal and property crime.

Abstract

The monograph summarizes the results of a project to develop an agenda for future research to improve understanding of the alcohol and crime relationship. The report concentrates on understanding how alcohol influences criminal behavior by focusing on social, cultural, and psychological explanations, rather than on medical-pharmacological theories. Theoretical types discussed include interactive, conditional or conjunctive, and spuriousness models. Sociodemographic analyses for the association between alcohol and crime examine variables such as age, gender, and race/ethnicity and their relationship to social and psychological variables. Two inferences are supported: the existence of an association between alcohol and crime is generally characteristic of most modern western societies, and the strength of this association varies by culture. Research on the sociocultural perspective indicates that attitudes toward drinking and the rules that govern behavior after drinking are variable across cultures, within the same culture at different times, and within particular subculture components. Methodological issues include accurate measurement of the alcohol-consumption variable in research on the relationship between drinking, crime, and the measurement-of-the-crime variable (official crime data and behavior criteria). The monograph recommends future research that (1) compares national and State rates of alcohol consumption and violent crime at the aggregate level, (2) investigates differences in cultural norms about alcohol use and crime in one or a few communities, (3) investigates the relationship between drinking and marital violence in a survey of couples, (4) focuses on the young adult male to examine the relationship between drinking and assaultive behavior, and (5) explores the effects of setting and context on the alcohol/crime connection. Footnotes, figures, and over 65 references are provided.