Alcohol, fear, and woman abuse

Although there is ample evidence that alcohol usage is associated with greater frequency, incidence and severity of spouse battering, there is also considerable evidence which does not support a direct linkage. This research investigates a heretofore neglected area, the role of substance use in inducing fear in victims. As part of a larger study of the police response to battering, 419 female victims of male offenders participated in intensive interviews; the sample consisted of 69.9% Black and 28.9% White women. All the women had been victims of at least one occurrence of misdemeanor-level abuse, and many were in chronically abusive relationships. The women participating in this study were moderately educated and relatively young, with a mean age of 30 years old. Relationship status was bimodal with roughly equal numbers of married and cohabiting couples; there were relatively few who were divorced or separated from their assailants, or were ex-cohabitants. The male partners of women represented in this sample were extremely heavy drinkers compared to a national sample. The quantity and frequency of alcohol use was less predictive of threatening or physically battering behavior than was male drunkenness. Frequent drunkenness was highly correlated with both threats and with battering Similarly, victims' fear of their partners was much more strongly associated with how frequently they were drunk than with drinking itself.