Alcohol and Domestic Violence
This article was originally published on WebMD Connect to Care
Intimate partner violence, or domestic violence, is a major public health concern. Studies have found a link between alcohol use and the occurrence of domestic violence, specifically that alcohol use increases the occurrence and severity of violence. Read on to learn more about the link between alcohol use and domestic violence.
How Does Alcohol Impact Domestic Violence?
According to a 2021 review published in Frontiers in Psychology, there is a clear link between alcohol use and domestic violence, but this link is stronger for the severity of domestic violence than the occurrence. Alcohol is a main factor in violent incidents because heavy drinking leads to disinhibition and a loss of emotional control. Alcohol use is widely acknowledged as a risk factor for violent crimes, and many studies have found that the intensity of the violence increases with increasing intoxication of the individual.
Alcohol narrows an individual’s focus and can cause things to be perceived incorrectly. “It can be said that domestic violence while drinking is not an intentional act as much as it is a reactive act.” explains David Tzall, Psy.D., Addiction Psychologist in Brooklyn, NY. “We are trying to get some type of need met and violence appears to be the best form under these conditions.”
What Percentage of Domestic Violence is Alcohol-Related?
Numerous studies on alcohol and domestic violence have found that:
Alcohol-related domestic violence is twice as likely to involve physical violence and life-threatening injuries
Domestic incidents were more aggressive and intense if alcohol was involved
Women are more likely to suffer from abuse if their partner is a heavy drinker
Women who are a heavy drinker themselves are more likely to be abused
“Studies show that 30-50% of domestic violence victims are abused while the couple is drinking.” explains Dr. Staci Holweger, Founder and Dr. of Regenerative medicine at Lifepatches. “Alcohol is strongly associated with violence against women. In fact, while less than a third of all violent crimes involve alcohol, more than half of all domestic violence cases do. Studies have also shown that alcohol is one of the most significant factors to consider in determining the likelihood of domestic violence. When a woman drinks, her risk for injury or death increases.”
“Although alcohol does not necessarily lead toward violence, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 55% of domestic abuse perpetrators were under the influence of alcohol prior to the assault.” says Dr. Matt Glowiak, PhD, LCPC from Choosing Therapy. “When judgment is impaired, individuals are much more likely to act on impulse. When triggered toward an anger response, they struggle to take pause and think it through. Rather, they immediately act out, which is where violence occurs. The violence may occur in the moment while intoxicated but is oftentimes the product of pent-up anger/aggression that is contained while sober but let loose while intoxicated. Accordingly, those who harbor animosity toward their spouse and/or other life stressors may be able to maintain their calm composure majority of the time but then act out while intoxicated.”
What is the Connection Between Violence and Alcohol?
Alcohol has a major impact on violent behavior, but alcohol is not the direct cause of violence. A 2021 study published in Health Psychology looked at the link between emotion regulation and alcohol-involved sexual aggression. This study found that therapeutic intervention around emotion regulation skills improved emotional modulation and emotional clarity, meaning that it reduced the intensity and duration of the negative emotions and improved the individual’s ability to identify how they were feeling. This led to less anger and reduced sexual coercion intentions.
Distress tolerance is the ability to manage actual or perceived emotional distress. According to a 2018 review published in Psychological Violence, people with low distress tolerance will use impulsive behaviors to attempt to regulate their feelings. They struggle to commit to long-term solutions to internal or external problems. Alcohol use and violence are two examples of impulsive behaviors that quickly relieve distress.
A 2019 study on wall or object punching found that it was strongly associated with feeling relief afterwards. Research has found that emotional relief is a key maintenance factor for wall or object punching, and other forms of nonsuicidal self-injury. Relief from negative emotions is the most common reason that individuals provide for engaging in wall or object punching.
Are domestic violence and alcohol related?
Two risk factors for domestic violence that are gaining attention in research are emotion dysregulation, or a difficulty in accepting and coping with emotions, and alcohol use. A 2020 study published in Psychological Violence looked at 391 men who were arrested for domestic violence and court-referred to a Batterer Intervention Program (BIP). This study found a direct path from emotion dysregulation to physical assault perpetration. Specifically, emotion dysregulation was associated with alcohol use and problems related to alcohol, which then mediated the link between alcohol and violence.
Why do People Become Abusive When Drunk?
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), alcohol may encourage violence because it disrupts normal brain function. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and slows down the brain. It negatively impacts the prefrontal cortex, which is the area of the brain that helps us express our personality, control our impulses, use good judgment, make decisions, and moderate social behavior. Alcohol lowers our inhibitions, which weakens the brain mechanisms controlled by the prefrontal cortex. This can cause someone to misjudge social cues and overreact, or act on a violent impulse without considering future consequences.
“Our ‘base emotions’ take over and if we feel slighted or disrespected it is easier to feel those emotions and then act upon them.” says Dr. Tzall. “People under the influence of alcohol can make poor and unhealthy choices but can't recognize them as bad or unhealthy. The problem is at the time they make sense and if it makes sense, it will happen more.”
However, it is important to understand that intoxication alone does not cause violence.
“Alcohol (or any other drug) can't ‘make’ anyone violent, domestically or otherwise, unless they've already got a predisposition to it.” explains Laurence Miller, PhD, Clinical and Forensic Psychologist from Miller Psychological Associates. “In that case, substances may disinhibit the pre-existing trait.”
“While a person's violent behavior might be associated with alcohol or drug abuse, this does not mean that they will not be violent without these substances.” explains Dr. Holweger. “A person's violent behavior might come from an emotional or mental problem, making getting sober alone not a guaranteed solution to the problem. However, if a person is violent only when drinking, the first step is to acknowledge that the problem isn't just with the alcohol and make changes to the emotional or mental problem. If a person isn't violent when sober, the substance abuse is definitely a problem, but addressing the emotional or mental problem is still a step in the right direction to take.”
Alcohol Treatments for Your Spouse
If your spouse is drinking heavily and harming you or those close to you while doing so, your first priority should be to ensure your own safety.
A review published in Violence Against Women found that about half of men in BIP programs have substance issues and are 8-11 times more likely to be abusive when drinking. Treatment for co-occurring alcohol addiction and intimate partner violence can include:
Inpatient or outpatient treatment
Anger management or aggression support groups
Individual or group therapy
12 step programs, like Alcoholics Anonymous
Batterer intervention programs
Treatment depends on the individual’s needs and there is no one-size fits all approach. A 2022 study published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence found that intimate partner violence treatment programs had the same therapeutic outcome for men who struggled with alcohol use as men who did not. This may be because although these programs do not specifically target alcohol use, they focus on empathy and emotion regulation skills training, which underlies domestic violence perpetration and heavy alcohol use.
“A lot of individuals are ignorant of how to properly address the issue of alcohol with others.” explains Dr. Tzall. “The antiquated views of interventions and blaming the other or speaking down to them still propagate a lot of the discussion within substance use. There are far more impactful and humanistic ways of interacting with those who have alcohol issues. These ways are not only more empathetic but they also work. There is an approach known as Motivational Interviewing which has helped shape my methods. If these are isolated incidents and the person is engaged and motivated to change then this can be one step toward treatment. However, the person might be ambivalent and not ready to change. In this case, it might be best to leave the relationship as it is more important to protect yourself rather than trying to change a person who is not ready.”
There are programs to help you find safety and healing. The following organizations can help:
National Domestic Violence Hotline: TheHotline.org or 1-(800)-788-SAFE(7233)
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: NCADV.org
Your local police: 911
Your healthcare provider
A local women's shelter or crisis center
“The truth is that there is no excuse when it comes to intimate partner violence.” shares Dr. Glowiak. “There is also an increased likelihood that once domestic violence occurs, even while intoxicated, that it will happen again. Proceed with caution. Always remember that no one deserves to be abused. Regardless of what the perpetrator says, said behavior is unacceptable and must be met with the appropriate consequences to ensure it does not happen again.”
Sources:
US Department of Justice. Who Facts on: Intimate Partner Violence and Alcohol. 2006
Brem, M. et al. Antisocial Traits, Distress Tolerance, and Alcohol Problems as Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence in Men Arrested for Domestic Violence. Psychol Violence. 2019
Kimbrel, N. et al. Wall/Object Punching: An Important but Under-Recognized Form of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2017.
Davis, K. et al. Alcohol-involved sexual aggression: Emotion regulation as a mechanism of behavior change. Health Psychol. 2021
Grigorian, H. et al. Alcohol Use and Problems as a Potential Mediator of the Relationship between Emotion Dysregulation and IPV Perpetration. Psychol Violence. 2021.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Alcohol, Violence, and Aggression.
Sontate, K. Alcohol, Aggression, and Violence: From Public Health to Neuroscience. Front Psychol. 2021.
Bennett, L. et al. Substance Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence. Violence Against Women. 2008.
Siria, S. Treatment effectiveness for male intimate partner violence perpetrators depending on problematic alcohol use. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2022.
