Verbal interactions of aggressively and nonaggressively predisposed males in a drinking situation

The effects of progressive intoxication were studied in male social drinkers classified from prior histories as either aggressively (A) or nonaggressively (NA) predisposed while intoxicated. Two groups of two A and two NA subjects engaged in videotaped group discussions that were analyzed by Bales interaction process analysis (IPA). At comparable levels of ad libitum alcohol intake in a natural drinking environment, significantly more verbal activity was displayed by the A subjects than by the NA subjects (P <.001), including IPA category D (P <.025). The A subjects tended to address the group as a whole rather than individual members (P <.001) and NA subjects rather than other A subjects (P <.01). Free testosterone levels assessed from saliva were higher among A subjects than among NA subjects (P <.05) with no significant changes related to time and progressive intoxication. The results suggest that the tendency to behave aggressively while intoxicated may be a fairly stable individual trait, possibly related to androgen levels and active or coercive modes of social communication.