Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Despite enormous research and media interest in both the effects of alcohol consumption and the causes of violent behavior, little theoretically integrated empirical work has been published on the actual relationship between the two. Reporting on the most ambitious field study undertaken on naturally occurring anger and aggression--the first one to examine the specific contribution of alcohol consumption to different levels of everyday violence--this volume bridges a gap in the literature and provides illuminating new insights.
The empirical data in ALCOHOL IN HUMAN VIOLENCE originate from a multimethod study of experiences of threats and physical violence among the general population of a Canadian city; analyses of all incoming reports of violent crime; and observations systematically carried out in local bars and taverns. The book combines quantitative analyses with qualitative reasoning to examine the processes that connect drinking and violence. Confounding conventional wisdom that assumes a straightforward cause-and-effect relationship, the book shows that there are a number of psychological and social variables that are as important as biochemical and neuropharmacological reactions. Examining these factors, abundant data is presented on the nature of violence--from pushing and slapping to the use of a weapon--and the extent of injury received when the victims are men, women, of different ages, in different locations, and in various relationships. Throughout, numerous anecdotal illustrations from the study and the news media highlight points of central theoretical concern.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

With the support of a Canadian grant, Pernanen, a Swedish social scientist, studied the relation between alcohol use and violent acts in Thunder Bay, a Canadian city of about 112,000. Interviews with residents and the examination of police records resulted in a number of findings, which are reported in this book. For example, about 40% of the respondents had witnessed violent acts or had been the victims of threats or violence. In slightly over half of the incidents the assailant had been drinking; in about one third of the incidents the victim had been drinking. In 42% of reported violent crimes, alcohol had been involved. Pernanen argues that in views about drinking and violence there is a tension between two "frameworks," viz., violent behavior caused by drinking is either a natural physiological response or it is a willful act on the part of the drinking individual. He attempts, but unsuccessfully, to interpret his findings in the light of these and other frameworks. Unfortunately, the book is not very well written; there are a number of confusing passages.-D. Harper, University of Rochester

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Kai Pernanen received his graduate degrees in sociology and philosophy from the University of Helsinki, Finland. He has conducted social research on the use of alcohol and drugs and criminological research on parolees and probationers. He has worked on analyses of validity problems in survey research, attibutions of causality in alcohol related social problems, and on theory development for the explanation of drunken behavior. Over the past 15 years, his work has focused primarily on the connections between alcohol use and violence. He has been associated with research organizations and universities in Canada, the United States, Finland, and Sweden. Currently, he is affiliated with the University of Uppsala, Sweden, where he is replicating the Canadian study described in this book.