Trait and state hostile rumination facilitate alcohol-related aggression.

OBJECTIVE

This investigation attempted to determine whether trait and state hostile rumination functioned as risk factors for the relation between acute alcohol intoxication and aggression.

METHOD

Participants were 516 social drinkers (252 men and 264 women). Trait hostile rumination was assessed using Caprara's Dissipation-Rumination Scale. Following the consumption of either an alcohol or a placebo beverage, participants were tested on a laboratory task in which electric shocks were received from and administered to a fictitious opponent under the guise of a competitive reaction-time task. Aggression was operationalized as the combined mean responses for shock intensity and duration across all trials. In a subset of the sample (n = 320), state hostile rumination was assessed following the aggression task using a self-report measure.

RESULTS

As expected, both trait and state measures acted as moderators. Specifically, acute alcohol intoxication was more likely to increase aggression in persons with higher trait and state hostile rumination scores compared with their equally intoxicated lower rumination counterparts.

CONCLUSIONS

This was the first investigation to demonstrate that trait or state rumination significantly heighten the risk of intoxicated aggression. We believe that hostile rumination facilitates intoxicated aggression because ruminators have difficulty diverting their attention away from anger-provoking stimuli and related thoughts, thus making violent reactions more likely. Clinical and public health interventions would benefit by developing strategies to distract ruminative attention away from violence-promoting messages, especially when persons are under the influence of alcohol.