In these specific social settings, alcohol abuse is frequently glamorized or ritualized. Indeed, some studies indicate that crowd violence among English football supporters is an inevitable consequence of the setting of football matches and the dynamics of crowds of youths, and that the violent behavior accompanying them is an end unto itself. Expectancies of both violence and intoxication are played out in ritualistic crowd behavior repeated before each match. Alcohol may enhance group influence in such settings. A key finding of these studies was that the crowd leaders were relatively light drinkers and the heaviest drinkers were incapacitated and incapable of violence.
Domestic violence is an extremely complex problem.
The underlying causes are multifaceted and their interactions are not well-defined. In family violence, the effects of alcohol are probably often used in a planned or semi-planned way in trying to establish preferred patterns of responsibility and family interaction. The interrelationship between specific causes of violence and the forms discussed above is not fully understood. The association between alcohol and violence is one dimension of a process which requires more study. Even though these theories have been posited, there is consensus that more research needed.