1. and the Perpetration of Sexual Coercion Among Male Batterers
The Relationship Between Problematic Alcohol Use, Problematic Drug Use,
and the Perpetration of Sexual Coercion Among Male Batterers
Jeniimarie Febres, Ryan C. Shorey, Hope Brasfield, Lindsay Hummel, & Gregory L. Stuart
The University of Tennessee—Knoxville
INTRODUCTION
The prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the United States is alarming. A national survey of a representative sample of U.S. women revealed that close to 25% are raped and/or physically assaulted by an intimate partner in their lifetime (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000), with more than 70% of women having experienced psychological aggression from an intimate partner (Ro & Lawrence, 2007). IPV victimization has been associated with devastating consequences, including acute and chronic physical and mental health problems, and suicide (Coker et al., 2002; Follingstad, 2009; Zlotnick, Johnson, & Kohn, 2006). At the extreme, many women are victims of intimate partner homicide. In fact, in 2005 alone, intimate homicide accounted for the deaths of 1,181 women (U. S. Department of Justice, 2007).
In an effort to better understand IPV, numerous studies have been conducted on risk factors for violence perpetration. Of the risk factors identified to date, alcohol use and abuse, as well as drug use and abuse have been found to be consistent correlates of IPV perpetration. For instance, Quigley and Leonard’s (2000) longitudinal study of newlyweds found that husband and wife drinking was significantly associated with later physical aggression, and that the highest amount of physical aggression occurred in couples where the husband was a heavy drinker and the wife was not. In their study of batterer intervention program (BIP) participants, Moore and Stuart (2004) found that over half of the sample reported using an illicit substance in the past year and that those who reported using illicit substances were at greater risk for perpetration of IPV. Furthermore, the majority of the individuals enrolled in substance abuse treatment programs reported perpetrating physical violence towards their partner in the past year (Chermack, Fuller, & Blow, 2000).
Although the relationship between substance use and abuse, and IPV perpetration has been repeatedly demonstrated for physical and psychological aggression across samples, there is a lack of research examining this relationship for sexual aggression perpetration in individuals arrested for domestic violence and mandated to BIPs. Research shows that the incidence of alcohol consumption is high among perpetrators of rape during the time of their assault (Rada, 1975; Scully, 1991). Alcohol use has also repeatedly been found to be associated with sexual assault perpetration in college students and adolescents (Abbey, 2002; Ageton, 1983). Similar studies examining the role of alcohol use in batterer samples, as well as the role of drug use across samples, is needed.
Table 2. T-tests for Significance Between PDSQ Alcohol and Drug Abuse or Dependence and Sexual Coercion Perpetration
Note. *p <.05; **p <.01
METHOD
Participants
329 men who were arrested for domestic violence and court-referred
to Rhode Island BIPs
Subsample of a larger study examining men mandated to BIPs
(Stuart et al., 2006)
Age: M =33.2 years, SD = 10.1
Education: M = 12.1 years; SD = 2.2
Annual income: M = $34,309; SD = $23,161
70.8% non-Hispanic Caucasian, 13.4% African-American,
8.5% Hispanic, 6.9% Other
28.0% married, 30.1% cohabiting/not married, 19.5% dating,
11.9% single, 6.1% separated, 4.0% divorced, 0.3% widowed
Length of time living with their current intimate partner:
M = 4.9 years, SD = 5.3
Measures
Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2; Straus et al., 1996). Sexual coercion perpetration was measured using the Sexual Coercion (α = .53) subscale.
The Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire (PDSQ; Zimmerman, 2002; Zimmerman & Mattia, 2001) was used to screen for alcohol and drug diagnoses. Diagnoses were assessed using the Alcohol and Drug subscale total scores; a cutoff score of 1 is indicative of a probable diagnosis. The Alcohol (α = .90) and Drug (α = .91) subscales do not distinguish “abuse” diagnoses from “dependence” diagnoses.
PDSQ Alcohol
Abuse or Dependence
PDSQ Drug
Met cutoff
n= 51
Did not meet cutoff
n= 64
n= 42
n= 73
M (SD) df t
Sexual Coercion
0.9 (1.3)
0.6 (1.1)
327
2.0*
1.2 (1.3)
3.57**
RESULTS
Correlations, means, and standard deviations for all variables are presented in Table 1. T-tests were used to examine whether the amount of sexual coercion perpetration was significantly different among men who met the PDSQ cutoff score for substance abuse or dependence versus men who did not meet that criteria.
Total amount of alcohol problems and total amount of drug problems were positively and significantly associated with sexual coercion perpetration. Of the 115 (35%) men who reported perpetrating sexual coercion, 44.3% (n=51) met criteria for a probable alcohol abuse or dependence diagnosis, while 36.5% (n=42) met criteria for a probable drug abuse or dependence diagnosis. Those men who met criteria for a probable alcohol (M= .90, SD= 1.31) or drug (M= 1.20, SD= 1.30) use disorder perpetrated significantly more sexual coercion (t(327)= 2.02, p<.05; t(327)= 3.57, p<.01, for alcohol and drugs, respectively) than those men who did not meet criteria for an alcohol (M= .62, SD= 1.08) or drug (M= .60, SD= 1.12) use disorder.
Table 1. Correlations, Means, and Standard Deviations among Study Variables
__________________________________________________________
Note. *p <.05; **p <.01
PDSQ= Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire 1. 2. 3.
1. Sexual Coercion Perpetration __
2. PDSQ Alcohol Total
.14*
3. PDSQ Drug Total
.22*
.20** M
4.68
1.32
0.71 SD
11.70
2.03
1.59
DISCUSSION
Results indicate that, in addition to being a risk factor for psychological and physical perpetration, alcohol and drug problems in men arrested for domestic violence may be a risk factor for sexual coercion perpetration. As such, BIPs may benefit from screening and making appropriate referrals for substance abuse treatment. Evidence already exists to show that reducing alcohol use is associated with reduced physical and psychological IPV perpetration. For instance, in a sample of individuals in treatment for alcohol dependence, Stuart et al. (2003) found significant reductions in IPV 6- and 12-months after completion of the program. Also, individuals in BIPs who also received formal substance abuse treatment showed a 30% - 40% decrease in violence recidivism (Jones & Gondolf, 2001). Future research should examine whether treatment for alcohol and drug abuse similarly affects sexual coercion recidivism.
STUDY AIMS
The more that is known about factors associated with IPV perpetration, the better equipped intervention programs will be to comprehensively address them in an effort to reach the goal of decreasing IPV recidivism. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between alcohol and drug use and abuse, and sexual coercion perpetration in individuals court-referred to BIPs.
For Further Information
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