Studies of domestic violence frequently document high rates of alcohol and another drug (AOD) involvement, and AOD use is known to impair judgment, reduce inhibition, and increase aggression. Alcoholism and child abuse, including incest, seem also to be connected. For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database.
High Rate of Alcohol Use
On the surface, it seems hard to argue with the numbers reported in domestic violence research studies. In a global study of intimate partner violence, the odds were higher worldwide in relationships where one or both partners had problems with alcohol, compared to relationships where neither of them did.
No Cause-and-Effect Relationship?
But those who study the dynamics of domestic abuse say there is no real research to indicate that alcoholism and drug abuse causes domestic violence. Although research indicates that among men who drink heavily, there is a higher rate of assaults resulting in injury, the majority of men classified as high-level drinkers do not abuse their partners. Also, many of the physically abusive incidents occur in the absence of alcohol use.
An Overlap in Social Problems
According to the Women’s Rural Advocacy Program, no evidence supports a cause-and-effect relationship between the two problems. The relatively high incidence of alcohol abuse among men who batter must be viewed as the overlap of two separate social problems, it claims. According to The Safety Zone, there is no evidence to suggest that alcohol use or dependence is linked to the other forms of coercive behaviors that are part of the pattern of domestic violence. “Economic control, sexual violence, and intimidation, for example, are often part of a batterer’s ongoing pattern of abuse, with little or no identifiable connection to his use of or dependence on alcohol.”
Battering Is Learned Behavior
Battering is a socially learned behavior, and is not the result of substance abuse or mental illness, advocacy groups claim. “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,” they say. Many men drink and do not abuse anyone as a result. On the other hand, many men abuse women when they are sober. It can be easier for some men and for some women to believe that the violence would not have happened if a drink had not been taken.
Denial and Minimization
It’s part of the denial process. Alcoholism and battering do share some similar characteristics. Both may be passed from generation to generation, both involve denial or minimization of the problem, both involve isolation of the family. So, why do batterers do it? How can you tell if you are at risk? If you are in an abusive relationship, what can you do?
