AM focused on the development of relaxation and cognitive coping skills for anger regulation (see Table 1 for outline of AM). Cognition-relaxation coping skills (CRCS; Deffenbacher & McKay, 2000) was chosen as the anger management protocol for four reasons. First, its coping skills approach fits conceptually into coping skills relapse prevention conceptualizations (Marlatt & Gordon, 1980; Witkiewitz & Marlatt, 2004). Moreover, meta-analyses (Beck & Fernandez, 1998; Del Vecchio & O’Leary, 2004; DiGuiseppe & Tafrate, 2003; Edmondson & Conger, 1996) show CRCS to be an effective intervention that had roughly equivalent effects to other interventions. Third, including both cognitive and relaxation coping skills provides a range of coping skills to assist most individuals with anger problems, i.e., this intervention addresses anger issues for most people.
Prevention and Intervention
- The link between alcohol and aggression has been established since the 1990s, and a World Health Organization (WHO) committee in the 2000s noted aggression is more closely linked to alcohol use than any other psychoactive substance.
- When a person struggles with both alcohol addiction and anger management problems, the issues exacerbate each other.
- Another study of 249 heavy drinkers similarly found that alcohol intoxication predicted higher levels of IPV in those who reported low psychological flexibility (Grom et al., 2021).
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a condition in which a person taking alcohol struggles with alcohol dependence and has minimal control over the cravings for alcohol despite negative social and economic consequences. Second, although therapists completed intensive training and training cases, measures of therapist adherence or competence were not obtained. It is thus possible that therapists did not abide by treatment manuals and procedures or did so poorly, outside of awareness of the supervisors.
Impact on your health
Drinking may also be a method to self-medicate negative emotions, including anger. Alcohol is a depressant substance, meaning that it helps to suppress some of the “fight-or-flight” stress reactions that anger can induce. Repeated alcohol abuse as a coping mechanism increases the odds for developing problems related to alcohol, however. It also raises the risk for negative consequences of outbursts related to explosive and uncontrolled anger. I3 Theory provides the organizational framework to develop clear and testable models of alcohol-aggression etiology.
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Predicting outcomes of individuals with alcohol dependence following a treatment experience has long been of interest in the field (e.g., Edwards et al., 1988). Edwards et al. indicate that several pretreatment characteristics (e.g., personality, employment characteristics) predicted posttreatment outcomes. Since this research was conducted, the study of predictors of outcome has progressed substantially (c.f., Adamson, Sellman & Frampton, 2009 for a review).
You may become angry on various occasions, and it varies from person to person how you will express your anger. Anger is not always a big issue unless it causes problems in your relationships with family, friends, and loved ones. However, if anger is not treated and managed appropriately, this may cause harm to your health.
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The study concluded that alcohol increased the odds of physical aggression in those men who had high trait anger and poor anger management skills. It also noted that sexual aggression was higher with alcohol, even in men with low trait anger and reasonable anger management skills. Unfortunately, the equilibrium of these particles gets disrupted when the levels of alcohol are high in the blood, causing damage to the brain’s functioning. Similarly, long-term use of alcohol can also result in psychological dependence and withdrawal symptoms upon avoiding alcohol use.
Editorial overview: Aggression and violence
Because of the established link between aggression and alcohol, co-treatments have been developed that can also address anger while drinking. If formal rehab seems too much, starting with an AA support group can help. These groups provide a supportive, non-judgmental space to discuss issues, an important step in recovery.
Breaking the Cycle: How To Stop Being Aggressive When Drunk
The goal of outpatient treatment is to provide therapy, education, and support in a flexible environment. When someone battles AUD, they are also less likely to consistently take care of regular obligations, which can impact interpersonal relationships and their home environment. These issues can then lead to more anger and further difficulty controlling emotions and outbursts. Research has shown that thought suppression may contribute to alcohol-related aggression. One study supporting this finding enlisted 245 men with a history of heavy episodic alcohol use (Berke et al., 2020).
A self-awareness intervention for heavy drinking men’s alcohol-related aggression toward women
Although no objective indicators of other substance use were obtained (e.g., urine screens), participants were asked whether they had used illicit substances. For the six-month baseline period, 64.5% of the sample reported no illicit drug use, and another 10.5% of the sample reported average use at less than one time per month; there was no significant between-condition difference. The most frequent drug used was marijuana; 30% of the sample reported use of this drug at least once during the six-month baseline period. With regard to baseline levels of anger, males scored at the 75th percentile and females at the 55th percentile on the STAXI-trait alcoholic rage syndrome anger scale. Alcohol is linked to anger and aggression more than any other psychotropic substance.7 While not all drinkers become angry, someone who is predisposed to anger can become more aggressive when they drink alcohol.
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