ALCOHOL AND BAR VIOLENCE

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This application focuses on the relationship between alcohol consumption and interpersonal aggression in a barroom setting. The research consists of three interrelated components designed to assess the prevalence of physical aggression among young (18 to 30 years) adults, and to test both distal and proximal factors related to bar violence. Distal factors are more dispositional in nature and include individual difference variables (e.g., hostility), alcohol- related variables (e.g., expectancies, drinking patterns), and the nature of typical bar setting (e.g., social and physical characteristics). Proximal factors are more situational in nature, but mirror the classes of distal variables. They include attributions concerning the participants in the specific incident of bar violence, alcohol consumption during the incident, and the characteristics of the bar in which the violent incident occurred. The application is organized around the following specific aims: 1) to assess the prevalence of violence, in bars and other contexts, among a representative sample of young adults; 2) to examine a distal model of bar violence; 3) to provide objective information concerning the social and physical characteristics of bars in which violence occurs compared to those in which violence does not occur; 4) to examine a proximal model of bar violence; and 5) proportional to their prevalence, collect information related to women's involvement in bar violence. These aims will be achieved in a three phase study. Phase 1 uses random digit dialing and computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) to survey 3,000 men and 3,000 women about violence in bars and other settings. Phase 2 is an assessment of factors related to a distal model of bar violence. Questionnaires will be completed by 120 men and 33 women who have experienced bar violence (EBV), 120 men and 100 women who have observed bar violence (OBV), and 120 men and 100 women who have neither experienced nor observed bar violence (controls). Phase 3 is a detailed assessment of factors related to a proximal model of bar violence. A event- based, face-to-face interview will be administered to persons in the EBV group. All phases of the research will be conducted concurrently, such that Phase 1 will be used to identify and recruit persons who meet criteria for the three conditions of Phase 2 as well as Phase 3. In addition, trained observers will assess the social and physical characteristics of bars mentioned by subjects in Phase 2 and 3. Given the paucity of research on alcohol and bar violence, this program of research will address many significant gaps in knowledge. As the investigators move from a macro to a micro level of analysis of the factors that contribute to bar violence, this research will contribute to the development of both theoretical models and experimental paradigms of the role of alcohol in interpersonal violence in bars.