The role of alcohol in domestic violence

Domestic Violence & Alcohol

Role of Domestic Violence and alcohol in marriage

The Role of Domestic Violence and Alcohol

Evidence of Effective Treatment

The purpose of this work is to examine the relation of alcohol, specifically alcoholism in relation to domestic abuse perpetrated against one spouse by the other in marriage where alcohol plays a leading role in attributing to the abuse.

Most individuals are able to have a drink or two with their evening meal and simply relax with no event ensuing. However, there are individuals that cannot take even the first drink and it has been observed that there are those so sensitive to the effects of alcohol that merely opening a bottle and inhaling the fumes changes their personality immediately. Alcoholism is a volatile and dangerous mix in any marriage but within the marriage where issues already exist alcohol may progress toward the end of the spectrum that is considered to be fatal to the partner who suffers the abuse, or if enough fear has been aroused then it could very well be fatal to the abuser in terms of self-defense on the part of the one being abused.

Research:

Evidence discovered by those researching the subject is that not only is alcoholism hereditary on a genetic level but it also may be hereditary due to conditioning where the child has been exposed to abuse and misuse of alcohol in the home while growing up. As a matter of fact, research findings conclude that the child that is exposed early to alcohol use it tends to increase the chance that they too will in turn resort to abuse of alcohol which invariably leads to some type of deviant behavior within a marriage. According to Stuart et al., the elements that are most likely to lead to an event of domestic violence are situational such as: "marital distress, health problems, legal problems, vocational and financial instability and disrupted family rituals such as holidays, birthdays, or other special occasions."

It has been determined by behavioral geneticists that there exists within alcoholism a genetic component and just as well it is such that must be activated through environmental factors. Stuart, et al. performed the study for the purpose of assessing the effectiveness of treatment in those cases involving domestic violence and used the following process in their method of studying domestic violence and alcoholism.

"Alcohol use, marital violence, psychological abuse, and marital satisfaction among 24 heterosexual male patients and their partners was assessed. Patients received 5 to 6 days of substance abuse treatment in a partial hospital. Patient and partner assessments were conducted at baseline and 6- and 12-month follow-up'

Findings:

The findings in this study were that the treatment results in "decreased alcohol use in patients and significant declines in husband-to-wife marital violence and psychological abuse." While men "reported no significant changes in their marital satisfaction" the opposite was true for the female partners.

Conclusion

There are 25 women beaten for every one hour in the day according to statistics. Other statistics state that a woman is beaten every nine seconds which is 400 beaten women for each one hour segment of each day by her life "partner." The reported study concluded with the statement that: Overall, the study suggests that:

"Marital violence perpetrated by male patients and their partners declined following the males' substance abuse treatment. "

It is always advisable to seek counseling, and if no progress can be compelled from the abuser to take a stance of safety first. The children are victims and the non-abuser must allow cognition to rule the processes of thinking. Alcoholism and domestic violence are a deadly combination within a marriage.