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Drugs and Alcohol

The relationship between alcohol and partner abuse is very complicated. Although there is clearly a link (see the statistics below), the nature of the association is unclear. While the research does not show that alcohol abuse definitively causes domestic violence, alcohol has consistently emerged as a risk factor for partner abuse in studies which have specifically considered its contribution. A variety of factors, including alcohol, may lead to partner abuse incidents.

Statistics

Criminal justice statistics:

Two-thirds of partner abuse victims (those abused by a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend) reported that alcohol had been a factor; for spouse abuse victims, the offender was drinking in three out of four cases (Greenfeld, 1998).

About half of alcohol-related violence incidents reported to police involved current or former spouses, boyfriends or girlfriends of the offenders (Greenfeld, 1998).

National-level research:

Husbands who binge drink are three times more likely to abuse their wives than husbands who abstain2 (Kaufman Kantor and Straus, 1987).

Research on women in alcohol treatment:

41% of women in alcoholism treatment programs had experienced severe partner violence3, as compared with 9% of women in a random household sample, 23% of women in mental health centers, and 12% of women in drinking and driving classes (Miller and Downs, 1993).

Information from http://www.tf.org/tf/alcohol/ariv/facts/dv5.html

Literature Review

The relationship between alcohol and partner abuse is very complicated. Traditional feminist theorists argue that partner abuse results from men's enforcement of their perceived power and control over their female intimate partners, and that such enforcement is an extension of men's attempts to maintain higher social status in other arenas such as the workplace (Dobash and Dobash, 1992). As partner abuse research has developed and expanded, researchers have also looked at risk factors for partner violence, such as alcohol abuse. Although the research does not show that alcohol use definitively causes domestic violence, alcohol has consistently emerged as a risk factor for partner abuse in studies which have specifically considered its contribution. The research suggests that a complex interplay of factors influences the occurrence of partner abuse. Such factors may include the level of intoxication; domestic violence or alcohol problems in the family of origin of perpetrators and survivors; cultural values about violence; socioeconomic status; ethnicity; and others (Kaufman Kantor, 1997; Kaufman Kantor and Asdigian, 1997a; Kaufman Kantor and Straus, 1989; Leonard, 1993). Partner abuse survivors may use alcohol as a coping mechanism (Kaufman Kantor and Asdigian, 1997a).

The Nature of the Relationship between Alcohol and Domestic Violence

There are several theories regarding the nature of the relationship between alcohol and violence which may be applied specifically to the link between partner abuse and alcohol. For example, according to disinhibition theory, alcohol interferes with the brain's normal tendency to suppress violent behavior (Bushman, 1997). In other words, when the brain functions normally, aggressive behavior is inhibited, or blocked. Alcohol may "disinhibit" or remove the block against aggressive behavior. Parker (1995) talks about selective disinhibition theory, which holds that disinhibition occurs only at certain times, depending on the interaction between alcohol use and a complex set of social and psychological circumstances. Under this theory, someone who normally suppresses violent behavior might abuse their intimate partner after consuming alcohol, depending on the drinker's social and psychological circumstances. It is important to consider that as described in the introduction to this literature review, there may be many factors which influence the choice to drink, as well as the potential to perpetrate partner abuse.

Another theory holds that drinking behavior may be influenced by expectancies, which refer to an individual s beliefs about alcohol-related effects on the self and others--such as a belief in disinhibition theory. With such a belief system, a partner abuse episode may be excused when the batterer is drunk (Gelles, 1987). Additional research indicates that beliefs about alcohol s effects are more complicated than the expectation that alcohol use removes inhibitions about violence. A national survey by Kaufman Kantor and Asidigian (1997b) found that people hold a range of beliefs about alcohol. The researchers spoke with both men and women who had assaulted their partners. (In this study, women were less likely than men to have perpetrated partner abuse.) Male perpetrators were significantly more likely than female perpetrators to subscribe to the belief that alcohol use leads to losing one s temper and behaving impulsively. The study also supported the theory that when men experience the alcohol-related physical sensations of arousal, such as increased heart rate, they may "misattribute" such feelings as increased aggression or dominance. Women are less likely to make such a connection, possibly because of socialization. Note that according to Stets and Straus (1990), men under-report perpetrating partner abuse, and female domestic violence victims tend to sustain more severe injuries than male victims.

Finally, according to a recent meta-analysis1 by Bushman (1997), the indirect cause model offers an alternative explanation of the relationship between alcohol and violence. According to this model, alcohol consumption has a "psychopharmacological effect"on behavior. Under this theory, alcohol causes physiological, emotional, and cognitive changes that may lead to aggressive behavior such as partner abuse. To clarify, while disinhibition theory holds that alcohol removes the tendency to suppress aggressive behavior, indirect cause theory asserts that alcohol stimulates such behavior. Again, as described in the introduction to this literature review, there may be other factors which influence the choice to drink, as well as the potential to perpetrate partner abuse.

Prevalence

Whatever the nature of the relationship between alcohol and partner abuse, there is no question that an association exists (Leonard, 1993). Kaufman Kantor and Straus (1987) found that husbands who binge drink are three times more likely to abuse their wives than husbands who abstain3. Some of the strongest evidence can be found in U.S. Department of Justice reports, which include arrest data as well as survey responses of crime victims and incarcerated perpetrators. According to a recent U.S. Department of Justice study, two-thirds of partner abuse victims (those abused by a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend) reported that alcohol had been a factor (Greenfeld, 1998); for spouse abuse victims, the offender was drinking in three out of four cases (Greenfeld, 1998); and about half of alcohol-related violence incidents reported to police involved current or former spouses, boyfriends or girlfriends of the offenders (Greenfeld, 1998).

There is an association between women s alcohol use and violent victimization, although there is no evidence to indicate that assaults are caused by victims alcohol use. As mentioned above, the literature indicates that a complex interplay of factors, which may include alcohol, influences the occurrence of partner abuse. Miller and Downs (1993) found that women with alcohol problems were more likely than women without alcohol problems to have been assaulted by an intimate partner. Kaufman Kantor and Asdigian (1997b) found that husbands were more likely to assault their wives when both spouses were heavy drinkers. The same study also indicated that when there was alcohol consumption at the time of a violent episode, husbands were over twice as likely as wives to have been drinking.

References

Information from http://www.tf.org/tf/alcohol/ariv/reviews/dvrev5.html

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