The role of alcohol in the link between national football (soccer) tournaments and domestic abuse - Evidence from England
Year: 2020
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Domestic abuse is increasingly recognised as a serious public health concern worldwide. Previous research has suggested a link between national football (soccer) tournaments and domestic abuse. While hypothesized to be a significant factor, the role alcohol plays in this relationship has not yet been explored quantitatively. In this study, using 10 years' worth of crime data (from 2010 to 2019) from the second largest police force in England (West Midlands Police), we explored the effect of England draws, losses, and wins in national football tournaments on the number of alcohol and non-alcohol-related domestic abuse cases reported to the police. Results from a series of negative binomial regression analyses show that the number of reported alcohol-related domestic abuse cases increases by 47%, 95% confidence interval [26%-71%], following an England football victory. This effect is limited to alcohol-related cases. The estimate translates into a 0.53, 95% CI [0.3-0.8], increase in the daily rate of alcohol-related cases per 100,000 individuals. The England win effect survives various robustness checks (including the re-analysis of a dataset from another geographical area in England), and its time course is strongly consistent with a causal link between England's football victories and an increase in alcohol-related domestic abuse. We also found a comparable increase in the number of other (not classified as domestic abuse) alcohol-related violent crimes on England win days. Further research is required to understand the exact causal pathway between national football tournaments, alcohol consumption, and violent behaviours in domestic settings.
Source: Social Science & Medicine
Authors: Anna Trendl, Neil Stewart, Timothy L. Mullett
Institution: University of Warwick
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,250
Awards: G1386586370, The Network for Integrated Behavioural Science - The Science of Consumer Behaviour, G1806726867, G2200362534, G3413806837, Accumulating to choose, but accumulating what? Drift diffusion modelling of economic preference, G3678697519, Network for Integrated Behavioural Science, G6128599341, G7050801856, G7342147324, G8579886662, G9000017427
OpenAlex ID: W3093679901