Data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, for example, indicated that 40 percent of frequent cocaine users reported engaging in some form of violent behavior.

Anger and violence often can have a causal role in the initiation of drug and alcohol use and can also be a consequence associated with substance abuse.

Individuals who experience traumatic events, for example, often experience anger and act violently, as well as abuse drugs or alcohol.

Clinicians often see how anger and violence and substance use are linked. Many substance abuse and mental health clients are victims of traumatic life events, which, in turn, lead to substance use, anger, and violence.

Despite the connection of anger and violence to substance abuse, few treatments have been developed to address anger and violence problems among people who abuse substances.