The influence of difficult temperament on alcohol-related aggression: better accounted for by executive functioning?

The purpose of this investigation was to test the hypothesis that executive functioning (EF) would mediate the relation between difficult temperament (DT) and intoxicated aggression. Participants were 165 social drinking men and women between the ages of 21-35years old. DT was measured using the Dimension of Temperament Scale - Revised and EF was measured using seven well-established neuropsychological tests. Following consumption of an alcoholic beverage, participants were tested on a laboratory aggression measure 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 shock intensities administered to the fictitious opponent under conditions of low and high provocation. Results indicated that EF successfully mediated the relation between DT and intoxicated aggression for men but not for women. These findings are discussed with regard to how they influence current models of aggressive behavior as well as their implications for future violence prevention efforts.