Role of Substance Use in Male-to-Female Physical and Sexual Violence: A Brief Review and Recommendations for Future Research

• NCJ Number: 224631
• Journal: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 19 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2004 Pages: 1494-1505
• Author(s): Maria Testa
• Date Published: December 2004
• Length: 12 pages
• Grant Number(s): K02 AA00284
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health and Human Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For related articles in this special issue see NCJ-224620-30

Annotation

This article discusses the role of substance abuse as it relates to violence against women.

Abstract

This article briefly reviews literature addressing the relationship between substance use and physical and sexual violence against women, stating that there are considerable complexities involved in the study of substance abuse and violence. Until recently, the majority of research has examined the global association between various measures of substance abuse and violence using cross-sectional survey methodology, which does little to advance an understanding of the substance abuse-violence relationship. The author notes that there is substantial evidence of a relationship between men’s substance use and perpetration of physical violence; that there is some evidence of a relationship between women’s substance use and experiences of sexual aggression; but that there is weak evidence that men’s substance use contributes to sexual aggression, or that women’s substance use contributes to their physical victimization. Additionally, the work notes that understanding the mechanisms underlying the relationship between substance use and violence relationship will be facilitated by narrowing the scope of research questions to identify for whom there is a relationship and under what circumstances. References