Alcohol and Violence in the Emergency Room: A Review and Perspectives from Psychological and Social Sciences

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Oulmann Zerhouni⁴  Laurent Bègue⁴  Georges Brousse⁶  Françoise Carpentier²  Maurice Dematteis³  Lucie Pennel⁵  Joel Swendsen¹ 

[1] CNRS UMR 5287, INCIA, Institut de Neurosciences cognitives et intégratives d’Aquitaine, Université Victor Segalen, Bordeaux 2, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux cedex, France; E-Mail:;Centre hospitalier universitaire de Grenoble, CHU de Grenoble BP 217 38043 Grenoble cedex 09, France; E-Mail:;INSERM U1042, Grenoble F-38042, France; E-Mail:;Laboratoire Interuniversitaire de Psychologie, Personnalité, Cognition, Changement Social, UFR SHS, 1251 avenue Centrale, BP 47, 38040 Grenoble Cedex 9, France; E-Mail:;Faculté de Médecine, Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble F-38042, France; E-Mail:;CHU Clermont Ferrand, Urgences Adultes, 28 Place Henri Dunant BP 69, 63003 Clermont-Ferrand Cedex 01, France; E-Mail:

关键词: alcohol;    violence;    injury;    emergency room;    aggression;    social cognition;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph10104584

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Our objective is to present a focused review of the scientific literature on the effect of alcohol consumption on violence related-injuries assessed in the emergency room (ER) and to show how psychological and behavioral sciences could lead to a better understanding of the factors contributing to alcohol-related injuries in the ER. We retrieved published literature through a detailed search in Academic Search Premier, MEDLINE with Full Text PsycARTICLES, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, PsycINFO, PUBMed and SocINDEX with Full Text for articles related to emergency rooms, medical problems and sociocognitive models addressing alcohol intoxication articles. The first search was conducted in June 2011 and updated until August 2013. Literature shows that compared to uninjured patients; injured ones have a higher probability of: (i) having an elevated blood-alcohol concentration upon arrival at the ER; (ii) reporting having drunk alcohol during the six hours preceding the event; and (iii) suffering from drinking-related consequences that adversely affect their social life. The main neurocognitive and sociocognitive models on alcohol and aggression are also discussed in order to understand the aetiology of violence-related injuries in emergency rooms. Suggestions are made for future research and prevention.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.