Trends in Alcohol Consumption and Violence in the Nordic Countries 1960–2000: Exploring Some Puzzles

Abstract

Patterns of drinking, especially drinking to intoxication, play an important role in violent offenses, and there are studies that indicate a causal relationship between alcohol consumption and violence. The strength of this relationship is, however, culturally dependent, and the amount of alcohol drunk and patterns of drinking are not the only factors affecting violence rates. This article examines if increases in alcohol consumption in the Nordic countries in the 1960–2000 period coincide with increases in violence. First alcohol consumption in the Nordic countries is described, after which trends in violence are examined using both deaths in violent crimes and assaults as indicators of violence. Next, indicators of violence are related to alcohol consumption. The article concludes that in the 1960–2000 period violence in the Nordic countries has increased at about the same pace as total alcohol consumption, but not faster than alcohol consumption, as the figures of assault known to the police indicate.