People often go to bars to relax, unwind, and chill around with their friends. But just as there are those who are there to hang loose, there are those who go to bars to drown their emotions in alcohol or to release some tension with some liquor. Baring all of this in mind, the possibility of a bar brawls is practically imminent.

Why Bar Brawls Happen

A bar brawl, typically seen in movies wherein one man punches the other and the whole bar breaks into a frenzy, is said to be caused by two reasons: misunderstandings and jealousy. The presence of alcohol does not help either.

But aside from being in a state of stupor, being jealous, or having misunderstandings, according to a study done by Samantha Wells, Paul F. Tremblay and Kathyrn Graham of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, expectations and approval are other key factors of bar brawls, Kurt Kleiner of the university magazine reported.

In their study, they found that people get into fights in bars because they think their peers will approve of it, and because they think that it is expected of them. In their study, men that were asked reported on average that they thought peers would approve of aggression more than they would, and that the higher the approval there is the higher the likelihood to get into fights.

When it Happens

Based on a new study done by lead author Ingeborg Rossow, just a one-hour extension of bar closing time increases the number of violent incidents in the establishment. Rossow pointed out that their findings suggest that violence in cities all around the world increase when bars extend their trading hours.

In their study, they found that a one-hour extension of bars leads to an increase of an average of 20 violent cases at night on weekends per 100,000 people a year. This figure translates to an increase in violence of 16%.

Where it Happens

Now that why and when bar brawls happen have been tackled, there is the question of where it happens. Even in the dark and tight corners of a bar, a fight can happen almost anywhere in there.

In another study also done by Graham, they observed that in a bar, the area with the highest chance of a fight breaking out is in the dance floor with 20%, reported Kasey Panetta of Men's Health.

The other areas where there are chances of a brawl taking place are:

  1. Near the bar - 15.7%
  2. Tables - 13.1%
  3. Near the dance floor - 11.5%
  4. Hallways - 6.2%
  5. Bar's entrance - 4.5%
  6. Pool area - 4.1%