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Violence and Substance Use Among Female Partners of Men in Treatment for Intimate-Partner Violence

Dr. Wupperman is Associate Research Scientist in Psychiatry; Dr. Amble is in private practice and faculty, Law and Psychiatry Division; Ms. Devine is in the New Haven Office of Court Evaluations, Law and Psychiatry Division; Dr. Zonana is Professor of Psychiatry and Director, Law and Psychiatry Division; and Dr. Easton is Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Director of Forensic Drug Diversion, and Director of Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence Services, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. Dr. Fals-Stewart is Professor, University of Rochester School of Nursing, Rochester, NY. Address correspondence to: Peggilee Wupperman, PhD, Yale University School of Medicine, CARE Program, 1 York Street, Suite 2H, New Haven, CT 06511. E-mail: pegwupp{at}hotmail.com

To improve understanding of the complex dynamics in intimate partner violence (IPV) in heterosexual relationships, we explored violence and substance use among the female partners of men entering treatment for both IPV and substance-related problems. All male participants (n = 75) were alcohol dependent and had at least one domestic-violence arrest. Results showed that female partners were as likely as men to engage in substance use the week before treatment; however, according to reports by the men, the female partners were more likely than men to use substances during the last week of treatment, due to a reported increase in use during the men's treatment. Regarding violence, 59 percent of female IPV victims reported engaging in some form of mild violence against their male partners, and 55 percent reported engaging in some form of severe violence. By contrast, only 23 percent of male batterers reported that their female partners had engaged in mild violence, and only 19 percent reported that their partners had engaged in severe violence. Regardless of whether the violence was defensive in nature, the data suggest that women in relationships involving substance abuse and IPV are in need of treatment. Implications of these findings are discussed.