Heavy drinking as a differential predictor of physical aggression in clinical and general populations

Whereas the association between heavy alcohol use and physical aggression (PA) is documented in alcohol dependent patients and the general population, comparison studies between populations treated for alcohol dependence and general population are lacking. In this study the nature of association between heavy drinking and PA was explored both in alcohol dependent inpatients and the general population.Three hundred thirty inpatients with alcohol dependence and 1199 adult subjects representing the general population were examined with PA score of Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire and the AUDIT scores. Relationship between PA and AUDIT total score was investigated with ANCOVA analysis.Significant association was found between alcohol use and PA in the ANCOVA analyses in both the inpatient and the control (general population) samples. At lower severity of alcohol use (total AUDIT score<8) the clinical sample showed a substantially higher severity of PA than the control sample, but at higher severity of alcohol use the control sample displayed a higher score of PA compared to the clinical sample.Clinical and general populations may need different risk management strategies in order to address their needs in rationalistic way.