Sometimes the term domestic violence is used to refer exclusively to the victimization of adult family members, such as spouses or partners who are abused by other adult members. Numerous studies have demonstrated that women who abuse alcohol and/or drugs are more likely to be victimized in incidents of domestic violence as well as in cases of sexual assaults.

Women who have partners who abuse alcohol and/or drugs have an increased risk for being injured by acts of violence. According to a study of 256 women who were intentionally injured by others, reported in 1999 in the New England Journal of Medicine by Demetrios N. Kyriacou and colleagues, the researchers found characteristics that were closely associated with an increased risk for suffering from violence, including alcohol abuse among their current or former male partners (with a 3.6 times greater risk than without alcohol abuse) and drug use among their partners (a 3.5 times greater risk).

Other lesser associated factors were male partners who were unemployed, who had received less than a high school education, and who were former husbands, estranged husbands, or former boyfriends of the women.

In another study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1999, the researchers studied 405 adolescent girls and women who had been intentionally injured by others. The researchers found that the male partners of the injured women were significantly more likely to have abused cocaine than the male partners of the control group; however, about half of the injuries were perpetrated by individuals other than the women's partners. The researchers also found that the women's own use of illicit drugs and alcohol increased the risk of violence at the hands of their partners or others.

Say the authors, "Women in this urban, lowincome community face violence from both partners and other persons. Substance abuse, particularly cocaine use, is a significant correlate of violent injuries."

References:

Tjaden, Patricia, and Nancy Thoennes. Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence against Women: Findings from the National Violence against Women Survey. Washington, D.C.: Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, November 2000.

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