Negative fathering plus barroom drinking are a dangerous mix, lead to aggression

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/ace-nfp040913.php

Public release date: 16-Apr-2013
Contact: Peter G. Miller
Deakin University

Contact: Samantha Wells
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research

A new study examines the role of the father-son relationship in male-to-male alcohol-related aggression (MMARA).
Findings indicate that negative father-son relationships can play a significant role in fostering young men’s MMARA, particularly when combined with barroom drinking.

Alcohol-related aggression is estimated to be involved in half of all assaults globally. In addition, alcohol-related aggression is most likely to occur among young males and usually at a bar or other licensed venue. While it is clear that drinking and heavy binge drinking can lead to male-to-male alcohol-related aggression (MMARA), this study is the first to examine the role of the father-son relationship in MMARA, finding that negative fathering is particularly influential.

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Samantha Wells, a scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health who was not in involved in this study, has conducted similar research on linkages between masculinity and aggression in bars. "These findings may further explain the link between masculinity and male violence; that is, boys who experience violence in the home at the hands of their fathers may react by embracing extreme versions of masculinity as a way of gaining a sense of power," she said. "In this way, the cycle of violence continues. But what is important here is the suggestion that the cycle of violence extends into social behaviour in a bar setting. This finding confirms that male aggression in bars is not simply 'boys being boys' – it's troubled boys being anti-social and harming others."

Miller's study defines "negative fathering" as an abusive or absent relationship to the child. "The terms we use are: indifference, so lack of emotional attachment or concern for the child; abuse, noted as both verbal and physical, for example, shaming or belittling the child, being verbally aggressive or physically violent such as hitting, punching, spanking; and over-control, an authoritarian relationship characterized by high expectations of conformity and compliance to parental rules and directions, while allowing little open dialogue between parent and child," he said.

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