Alcohol Consumption by Domestically Violent Men Increases Likelihood of Physical Abuse of Female Partners

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Men who drink alcohol and have a predisposition for physical violence toward their female partners are more likely to be violent on the days they drink alcohol, according to a study conducted at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) and reported in the February 2003 issue of the American Psychological Association's Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

The odds of any male-to-female physical aggression are eight times higher on days when these men drink alcohol than on days with no alcohol consumption, with the chances of severe male-to-female physical aggression on drinking days more than 11 times higher.

Moreover, compared to days of no drinking, the odds of any male-to-female violence on days of heavy drinking by the male partners (drinking six or more drinks in 24 hours) are more than 18 times higher and the odds of severe violence are more than 19 times higher.

The study, conducted by William Fals-Stewart, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist who is a principal investigator at RIA and research associate professor in the UB Department of Psychology, is the first to obtain daily reports -- by use of diaries and calendars -- of both drinking and partner violence over an extended period of time.

Fals-Stewart said the study followed 137 men entering a domestic violence treatment program and 135 domestically violent men entering an alcoholism treatment program over a 15-month period.

"Across both groups, our results show a significant and comparatively similar relationship between men's drinking and violence against women."

Fals-Stewart noted that the data are drawn from two relatively large samples of domestically violent men, revealing highly similar relationships between male partners' drinking and the occurrence of male-to-female physical aggression for both groups.

"We found that the timing of violent episodes was more likely to occur during or shortly after the drinking episodes," according to Fals-Stewart. "Also, individuals seeking treatment for domestic violence who have more severe alcohol misuse problems were found generally to be more likely to engage in partner violence on any given day, regardless of drinking, than their counterparts without drinking problems."

For couples in which male partners have a fairly recent history of perpetrating partner violence, drinking -- particularly heavy drinking -- by male partners represents a highly significant risk factor for the recurrence of physical aggression.

"Alcohol use and intoxication are perhaps best viewed as only one of several factors that help to create the situation in which partner violence results," Fals-Stewart said.

"It is important to recognize that participants in this study were domestically violent men entering outpatient treatment either for battering or alcoholism. It is unclear how these results would apply to the general population. In most instances in the greater community, alcohol consumption, even heavy drinking, does not lead to domestic violence. However, the results from this investigation appear to support the notion that alcohol use plays some role in the facilitation of aggression in the context of certain marital relationships."

Funding for the seven-year study was provided by two grants totaling $4 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and $10,000 from Old Dominion University, where Fals-Stewart previously was a faculty member.

Fals-Stewart's research encompasses marital and family therapy with drug-abusing patients, long-term outcomes of substance-abuse treatment, and psychological and neuropsychological assessments with drug-abusing patients.

UB's Research Institute on Addictions has been a leader in the study of alcohol and substance abuse for more than 30 years.