Husband and Wife Alcohol Use as Independent or Interactive Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective: Men's heavy drinking has been established as a risk factor for their perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV); however, the role of women's drinking in their perpetration of IPV is less clear. The current study examined the relative strength of husbands' and wives' alcohol use and alcohol dependence symptoms on the occurrence and frequency of husbands' and wives' IPV perpetration. Method: Married and cohabiting community couples (N = 280) were identifi ed and recruited according to their classifi cation in one of four drinking groups: heavy episodic drinking occurred in both partners (n = 79), the husband only (n = 80), the wife only (n = 41), and neither (n = 80). Husband and wife alcohol consumption, alcohol dependence symptoms, and IPV perpetration were assessed independently for both partners. Results:Husband and wife consumption and alcohol dependence symptoms contributed to the likelihood and frequency of husband IPV, both independently and interactively. Husband, but not wife, alcohol dependence symptoms contributed to the occurrence of any wife IPV, although both partners' alcohol dependence symptoms predicted the frequency of wife aggression. Couples with discrepant drinking were not more likely to perpetrate IPV. Conclusions: Findings for husband IPV support previous research identifying alcohol use of both partners as a predictor. However, for wives, alcohol appears to play less of a role in IPV perpetration, perhaps refl ecting that women experience less inhibition against physical aggression in their intimate relationships than do men. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 73, 268-276, 2012)

Temporal Effects of Perpetrating or Receiving Intimate Partner Aggression on Alcohol Consumption: A Daily Diary Study of Community Couples

“…It was more common for only one partner to report that IPA had occurred. Consistent with survey research (e.g., Testa et al, 2012) and our previous analyses from this sample , uncorroborated reports of both victimization and perpetration were generally more likely to be reported by the female than by the male partner, according to McNemar's test.…”

“…Examining the association between IPA and alcohol use is complicated by the surprisingly low agreement between relationship partners regarding the occurrence of IPA (Caetano et al, 2009;Schafer et al, 2002;Testa et al, 2012). For example, one partner may report an episode of IPA in which she both perpetrated and experienced victimization; however, her partner may report only perpetration, only victimization, or neither.…”

Intimate partner violence trends in Brazil: data from two waves of the Brazilian National Alcohol and Drugs Survey

“…30 Additionally, male-to-female IPV perpetration has been consistently linked to heavy drinking by men 31 and AUD. 32,33 It is relevant to highlight that gender differences were not spotted with regards to perpetration of violence in our results. We also found that major predictors of IPV perpetration, such as illegal substance use (apart from sedative use), were identical between genders.…”

Daily reports of intimate partner verbal aggression by self and partner: Short-term consequences and implications for measurement.

“…It is likely that any characteristic that increases people’s sensitivity to negative partner behavior will increase the likelihood that such behavior is seen as aggressive. For example, women report both more victimization and perpetration than is corroborated by their partner (e.g., Testa & Derrick, 2014; Testa et al, 2012). Similarly, people with lower relationship satisfaction report receiving more psychological aggression than their partner reports perpetrating (Marshall, Panuzio, Makin-Byrd, Taft, & Holtzworth-Munroe, 2011).…”