Concurrent Use of Alcohol and Crack Cocaine is Associated with High Levels of Anger and Liability to Aggression

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate aggressiveness in individuals receiving treatment for alcohol and crack cocaine use, both alone and in combination with one another, in order to compare them to control subjects with no history of drug problems, using the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. Method: The sample consisted of 67 men aged 18-65 years, divided into four groups: alcohol (n = 13); crack cocaine (n = 25); crack cocaine + alcohol (n = 16) and controls (n = 13). Participants completed the following instruments: socioeconomic questionnaire, the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence and the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. Results: Individuals with alcohol dependence alone, or comorbid with crack cocaine dependence, showed elevated levels of aggression and anger, though these varied according to the drug of abuse. Concurrent users of alcohol and crack cocaine had the highest levels of aggression, followed by isolated alcohol users, suggesting an association between alcohol consumption and aggression. Conclusion: The present findings suggest that alcohol and aggression levels may be associated with violent behavior. Concurrent use of alcohol and crack cocaine was related to higher levels of aggression, which may be associated with more severe alterations in behavior and impulse control.

Keywords:

• Anger
• drug addiction
• alcohol
• crack cocaine
• violence