Alcohol Consumption and Partner Violence Among Women Entering Substance Use Disorder Treatment

To test the hypothesized role of alcohol consumption as a proximal risk factor for partner violence, a within-subjects analysis compared levels of alcohol consumption in violent versus nonviolent conflict events among substance-abusing women and their male partners. Participants were married or cohabiting women (N = 145) who had recently begun a substance abuse treatment program and reported both a violent and a nonviolent relationship conflict event with their male partner in the prior 6 months. The average age was 38, and 83% were White. Male partners did not participate in the study. The female participant provided information about the male partner. Women were interviewed regarding a violent conflict event in which physical violence occurred and a nonviolent conflict event in which psychological aggression occurred without physical violence. The interview assessed quantity of alcohol consumed and use of other drugs prior to each conflict. Alcohol consumption was significantly greater prior to violent versus nonviolent conflict events for all measures of women's alcohol consumption examined: any drinking, heavy drinking, number of drinks in the 12 hr preceding the conflict event, and estimated blood alcohol concentration at time of the event. Male partners' alcohol consumption showed similar results. Use of other drugs in women, but not men, was significantly more likely prior to physical conflicts. These within-subject comparisons help to rule out individual difference explanations for the alcohol-violence association and indicate that the quantity of alcohol consumption is an important proximal risk factor for partner violence in substance-abusing women and their male partners.