The effects of incident-specific substance use on the outcomes of intimate partner violence (IPV)

Background and Purpose: In the past two decades, scholars have sought to understand how perpetrators' or victims' substance use during an episode of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is associated with both the occurrence of IPV and the severity of IPV outcomes. However, the research has been inconclusive, and further clarification is needed. The area that needs the most input is clarification of the role of substance use in IPV victimization, especially the impact of incident-specific substance use by the perpetrator and the victim. Given that IPV incidents perpetrated under the influence of alcohol or drugs could possibly result in more severe outcomes to the victims than IPV incidents where alcohol or drug use is absent, it is crucial to gain a greater understanding of the impact of incident-specific substance use by the perpetrator and the victim on IPV outcomes. The goal of this study is, therefore, to explore the effects of incident-specific substance use by the perpetrator and the victim on the victim's IPV outcomes.

Method: Because of the sensitive nature of the topic and population, sampling was conducted by getting phone calls from women interested in the study (N=114). All the data was gathered through anonymous telephone interviews from four metropolitan areas: Dallas, Minneapolis/St. Paul, San Jose, CA, and Pittsburgh. IPV outcomes were examined in two areas: victim's physical injury outcomes and functionality. The former was measured by Conflict Tactics Scales 2 (CTS2) injury scale and the latter by a four-item scale developed by Edleson (2003) and his colleagues. To examine the effects of incident-specific substance use on IPV outcomes, a stepwise multiple regression of each outcome variable was performed with three sets of independent variables: 1) demographic background (victim's age, race, the place of residence, the length of the relationship with the perpetrator, and victim's level of education), 2) assault-related factors (frequency of abuse and weapon use), and 3) incident-specific substance use by the perpetrator and the victim.

Results: Findings indicate that incident-specific substance use by a perpetrator and a victim was not significantly related to the extent of physical injury. However, the substance use by both the perpetrator and the victim was significantly related to an increased level of victim's functional impairment (p < .05), as compared to the case in which neither the victim nor the perpetrator used substances or the case in which the perpetrator alone used substances during an IPV incident (p < .01). Other than the incident-specific substance use, the use of a weapon was associated with more severe physical injury and the more frequent abuse was related to increased risk of victim's functional impairment.

Conclusions and Implications: Based on the research findings, authors suggest that more efforts need to be made to reduce alcohol or drug use in perpetrators as well as victims. Considering that alcohol or drugs can be used as a coping mechanism by IPV victims, domestic violence agencies should educate them about healthy coping strategies.