Association Between Substance Use and the Perpetration of Family Violence in Industrialized Countries: A Systematic Review

Vandhana Choenni, Alice Hammink, Dike van de Mheen*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal(Systematic) Review article peer-review

70 Citations (Web of Science)

Abstract

This review examines the association between alcohol and illicit drug use and the perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) and child maltreatment (CM). In clinical populations, alcohol use is related to IPV, although other variables are also known to influence this relationship. Studies in specialized social/health care and in the community have also demonstrated the association between alcohol use and IPV. Although data on the association between illicit drug use and IPV are less clear, in most studies perpetration seems related to the use of cannabis and cocaine. The occurrence of CM is related to alcohol use in specialized social/health care and community populations but has not been extensively investigated in clinical samples. These findings also apply to studies on the association between illicit drug use and CM. Moreover, many studies on CM fail to distinguish between the effects of alcohol and those of illicit drugs. This review concludes with recommendations for future research about substance use and family violence and discusses implications for prevention and treatment.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)37-50
Number of pages14
JournalTrauma Violence & Abuse
Volume18
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2017

Keywords

  • family violence
  • domestic violence
  • intimate partner violence
  • child maltreatment
  • substance use
  • alcohol
  • illicit substances
  • illicit drugs
  • INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE
  • CHILD SEXUAL-ABUSE
  • URBAN EMERGENCY-DEPARTMENT
  • CONFLICT-TACTICS-SCALES
  • USE DISORDER TREATMENT
  • DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
  • RISK-FACTORS
  • ALCOHOL-USE
  • DRUG-USE
  • HEALTH CONSEQUENCES

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