Perceptual biases in social cognition as potential moderators of the relationship between alcohol and intimate partner violence: A review

Heavy drinking and alcohol use disorders are well-established risk factors for the perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV). Yet, there is considerable debate over the functional role of alcohol in IPV. Psychopharmacological effects of alcohol intoxication may escalate the risk of violence directly by impairing cognitive function and facilitating aggressogenic processes by distorting perceptions of social cues and lowering inhibitions. Additionally, alcohol limits the capacity to attend to social cues and, in conflict situations, may thereby increase the salience of provocative cues. Importantly, research on stable personality characteristics of partner-violent men has identified social cognitive processing biases that may heighten the risk for IPV, especially during alcohol intoxication. This review examines social perceptual deficits as possible moderators of the effect of alcohol on IPV within the context of the multiple threshold model. Specifically, we examine maladaptive or deficient social perceptual processes that have been identified as risk factors for IPV and have also been implicated as moderators of the association between alcohol and general aggression: empathic accuracy, facial affect recognition, and anger/hostile attribution biases. Despite the interrelations among cognitive processes related to IPV and risk markers for alcohol-related aggression, many of these constructs continue to be examined in separate literatures. Published by Elsevier Ltd.