Drinking Alcohol and Domestic Abuse

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There is a general correlation between alcohol consumption and violence toward a spouse or partner: They sometimes occur together. But does drinking actually cause abuse in a relationship? Researchers and other experts warn against jumping to the conclusion that it does.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming that a relationship between two things means that one causes the other. For example, the number of people who drown is correlated with the consumption of ice cream. But neither causes the other. In warmer weather more people eat more ice cream and more people go swimming, which increases the chances of drowning.

Experts emphasize that there is no research evidence that alcohol consumption or even alcohol abuse causes domestic violence. Furthermore, the majority of alcoholics and other men who abuse alcohol don’t abuse their partners and most instances of abuse occur in the absence of any alcohol consumption at all.

So why is alcohol consumption associated with domestic abuse at all? The Women’s Rural Advocacy Program says that the higher incidence of alcohol abuse among men who batter results from the overlap of two separate social problems.

In “The False Connection between Adult Domestic Violence and Alcohol,“ Theresa Zubretsky and Karla Digirolamo report that “economic control, sexual violence, and intimidation, for example, are often part of a batter’s ongoing pattern of abuse, with little or no identifiable connection to his use of or dependence on alcohol.”

Alcohol does not and cannot make one person abuse another. Many authorities explain that “men who batter frequently use alcohol abuse as an excuse for their violence. They attempt to rid themselves of responsibility for the problem by blaming it on the effects of alcohol.”

Although most writers focus on men as abusers of women, research also indicates that women abuse men about as often. And there’s no reason to believe that alcohol causes women to abuse men.

References

  • Some Doubt the Role Alcohol Plays: Statistics seem to indicate a connection between alcohol and drug abuse and domestic violence, but some researchers question the cause-and-effect relationship. About Alcoholism, 6-24-04.
  • Zubretsky, Theresa M. and Karla M. Digirolamo. "The False Connection between Adult Domestic Violence and Alcohol." In Albert R. Roberts, (Ed.), Helping Battered Women. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Readings

  • American Medical Association Council on Scientific Affairs Report, Alcohol, Drugs and Family Violence. Report A-93. 1993.
  • Bennett, L., & M. Lawson. Barriers to Cooperation between Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse Programs. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 1994, pp. 277-286.
  • Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Substance abuse treatment and domestic violence. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 1997.
  • Coleman, D. & Murray A. Straus. Alcohol Abuse and Family Violence. In E. Gottheil, (Ed.), Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Aggression. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, 1983.
  • Collins, James J., Larry A. Kroutil, E. Joyce Roland & Marlee Moore-Gurrera. Issues in the Linkage of Alcohol and Domestic Violence Services. In Galanter, M. (Ed.). Recent Developments in Alcoholism, Volume 13: Alcoholism and Violence. New York: Plenum Press, 1997.
  • Cruz, J. Michael & Robert L. Peralta. Family Violence and Substance Use: The Perceived Effects of Substance Use within Gay Male Relationships. Violence and Victims, 2001, Vol. 16 No. 2.
  • Cunradi, C. B., Caetano, R., Clark, C. L., & Schafer, J. Alcohol-related problems and intimate partner violence among White, Black, & Hispanic couples in the U. S. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 1999, 23, 1492-1501.
  • Downs, William R., Denise D. Werner & Brenda A. Miller. Differential Patterns of Partner-to- Woman Violence: A Comparison of Samples of Community, Alcohol Abusing, and Battered Women. A paper presented at the 41st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology. Reno, NV, 1989.
  • Frank, Phyllis B. & Gail Kadison Golden. Blaming by Naming: Battered Women and the Epidemic of Codependence. Social Work, 1992, Vol. 37, No. 1.
  • Gelles, R.J. Through a sociological lens: Social structure and family violence. In R.J. Gelles & D.R. Loseke (Eds.) Current Controversies on Family Violence Newbury Park CA: Sage, 1993. Pp. 31-46.
  • Gelles, R. J. Alcohol and Other Drugs are Associated with Violence-They are Not Its Cause. In R. J. Gelles & D. R. Loseke (Eds.), Current Controversies on Family Violence. Sage: Newbury Park, CA, 1993. Pp. 182-196.
  • Gondolf, E.W. Alcohol Abuse, Wife Assault, and Power Needs. Social Service Review, 1995, 69, 275-283’
  • Graham, K. Theories of intoxicated aggression. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 1980, 12, 141-158.
  • Hamilton, C.J., & Collins, J.J. The Role of Alcohol in Wife Beating and Child Abuse: A Review of the Literature. In J.J. Collins (Ed.), Drinking and Crime: Perspectives on the Relationship between Alcohol Consumption and Criminal Behavior. New York: Guilford, 1981. Pp. 253-287.
  • Hart, B. J., & Jans, F. Drugs, Alcohol and Addiction: A Resource Manual for Advocates Working to End Domestic Violence. Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Harrisburg: 1997. (Available from PCADV, 6400 Flank Drive, Suite 1300, Harrisburg, PA. 17112, 717-545-6400.)
  • Heyman, R. E., O’Leary, K. D., & Jouriles, E. N. Alcohol and aggressive personality styles: Potentiators of serious physical aggression against wives? Journal of Family Psychology, 1995, 9, 44-57.
  • Kaufman Kantor, Glenda & Murray A. Straus. The 'drunken bum' theory of wife beating." Social Problems, 1987, Vol. 34, No. 3.
  • Lang, A.R, D.J. Gaeskner, V.J. Adesso and G.A. Marlatt. Effects of alcohol on aggression in male social drinkers. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1975, Vol. 84, No. 5, 508-518.
  • Leonard, K. E. & Quigley, B. M. Drinking and marital aggression in newlyweds: An event based analysis of drinking and the occurrence of husband marital aggression. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 1999, 60, 537-545.
  • Leonard, K.E. & Jacob, T. Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Family Violence. In VanHasselt, Morrison, Bellack, & Hersen (Eds.) Handbook of Family Violence. NY: Plenum, 1988. Pp. 383-406.
  • Levy, A.J., & J.S. Brekke. Spouse Battering and Chemical Dependency: Dynamics, Treatment, and Services Delivery. In Finnegan, D. (Ed.) Aggression, Family Violence and Chemical Dependency. Binghamton, NY: Haworth, 1990. Pp. 81-97.
  • Marlatt, G. Alan & Damaris J. Rohsenow. Cognitive Processes. In Alcohol Use: Expectancy and the Balanced Placebo Design. In Mello, N. K. (Ed.) Advances in Substance Abuse Behavioral and Biological Research. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press Inc., 1980.
  • MacAndrew, C. & R.B. Edgerton. Drunken Comportment: A Social Explanation. Chicago: Aldine, 1969.
  • Miller, B.A., W.R. Downs & D.M. Gondoli. Spousal violence among alcoholic women as compared to a random household sample of women. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 1989, Vol. 60, No. 6, 533-540.
  • Miczek, K.A., DeBold, J.F., Haney, M., Tidey, J., Vivian, J., & Weerts, E.M. Alcohol, Drugs of Abuse, and Violence. In A.J. Reiss & J.A. Roth (Eds.) Understanding and Preventing Violence. Washington DC: National Academy Press, 1994. Pp. 377-570.
  • Miller, B.A., & Downs, W.R. The impact of family violence on the use of alcohol by women. Alcohol Health and Research World, 1993, 17, 137-143.
  • Miller, B.A., Downs, W.R., & Gondoli, D.M. Spousal violence among alcoholic women as compared to a random household sample. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 1989, 50, 533-540.
  • O’Leary, K. D. Through a Psychological Lens: Personality Traits, Personality Disorders, and Levels of Violence. In R. J. Gelles & D. K. Loseke (Eds.), Current Controversies on Family Violence. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1993. Pp. 7-29.
  • Pan, H. S., Neidig, P. H., & O’Leary, K.D. Predicting mild and severe husband to wife physical aggression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1994, 62, 975-981.
  • Pernanen, K. Alcohol in Human Violence. NY: Guilford, 1991.
  • Schumacher, J. A., & O’Leary, K. D. Alcohol Use and Intimate Partner Violence: A Linear Association or a Threshold Effect? Unpublished manuscript. Research Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 2002.
  • VanHasselt, Morrison, Bellack, & Hersen (Eds.) Handbook of Family Violence, 383-406. NY: Plenum
  • Wright, Janet. Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse: A Cooperative Approach toward Working with Dually Affected Families. In Edith M. Freeman, (Ed.). Social Work Practice With Clients Who Have Alcohol Problems. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, 1985.
  • Zubretsky, Theresa M. Promising Directions for Helping Chemically-involved Battered Women Get Safe and Sober. In Albert R. Roberts, (Ed.), Handbook of Domestic Violence Intervention Strategies. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
  • Zubretsky, Theresa M. & Karla M. Digirolamo. The False Connection Between Adult Domestic Violence and Alcohol. In Albert R. Roberts, (Ed.). Helping Battered Women. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

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