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Alcohol and Violence-Related Injuries in the Emergency Room

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Recent Developments in Alcoholism

Part of the book series: Recent Development in Alcoholism ((RDIA,volume 13))

Abstract

This chapter reviews data on estimated blood alcohol concentration (BAC), self-reported consumption, and drinking patterns and problems from emergency room (ER) studies of alcohol and violence-related injury. These studies used probability samples of all injured patients that were representative of the population served by the ER where the data were collected. Those with violence-related injuries were more likely to be admitted to the ER with a positive BAC, to report drinking prior to the event, and to report more frequent heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems than those admitted to the same ER during the same time period with injuries from other causes. Limitations to these ER studies, including representativeness of samples, alcohol’s presence and role in violence perpetration compared to violence victimization, the presence of other psychoactive substances, and the actual risk at which alcohol places the individual for injuries resulting from violence are discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alcohol Research Group, Western Consortium for Public Health, Berkeley, California, 94709

    Cheryl J. Cherpitel

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  1. Cheryl J. Cherpitel
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York

    Marc Galanter

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© 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Cherpitel, C.J. (2002). Alcohol and Violence-Related Injuries in the Emergency Room. In: Galanter, M., et al. Recent Developments in Alcoholism. Recent Development in Alcoholism, vol 13. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47141-8_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47141-8_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-306-45358-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-306-47141-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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