Journal of Drug Issues 28(4),837-858, 1998 ACUTE AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF DRUG USE ON AGGRESSION FROM ADOLESCENCE INTO ADULTHOOD Helene Raskin White Stephen Hansell Four waves of longitudinal data were used to examine the relation- ship between the use of alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine and aggression from early adolescence into adulthood. The prevalence of fighting while using drugs (i.e., acute effects) was higher for alcohol thanfor marijuana and cocaine. A series ofnestedstructural equation models examined the cross-sectional and long-term longitudinal interrelationships between each type of drug use and aggressive behavior. While alcohol use was not significantly related to later aggressive behavior at any age, both marijuana and cocaine use were significantly related to later aggression. In contrast, aggressive behavior did not significantly predict later alcohol, marijuana, or cocaine use. Overall, these data suggest that the long- term as well as acute relationships between aggression and drug use vary by drug type and stage of the life cycle. Introduction The relationship between the use of alcohol and other drugs and violence is well documented (see White 1997a). While alcohol and many drugs share similar statistical relationships with violence, the mechanisms and processes that account for their associations may be different. That is, alcohol use is presumed to contribute to violence because of the psychopharmacological properties of the drug, as well as the expectancies and societal norms surrounding these properties. On the other hand, illicit drug use is assumed to contribute to violence primarily because of the conditions of the illegal drug market. These models have been proposed to account for the acute relationships between alcohol/drug use and violence, which have been the focus of numerous studies (for reviews see Helene Raskin White is a professor of sociology at the Center of Alcohol Studies and Sociology Department at Rutgers University. She is currently engaged in longitudinal research on the etiology and consequences of substance use and delinquency. Stephen Hansell is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research at Rutgers University. His research interests include the mental and physical health of adolescents, illness-related behavior of older adults, and treatment outcomes for people with schizophrenia. Preparation of this paper was supported in part by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Alcoholic Beverage Medical Research Foundation. Portions ofthis paper were presented at the International Society for Research on Aggression meeting in Strasbourg, France, August of 1996, and the American Society of Criminology meeting in Chicago, IL, November of 1996. The authors are grateful to Marsha E. Bates and two anonymous reviewers for their suggestions on an earlier version of this paper. Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Helene Raskin White, Center of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers University, 607 Allison Rd., Piscataway, NJ 08855-8001. <D Journal of Drug Issues 0022-0426/98/04/837-858 $3.00 837