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Many
studies show a high rate of alcohol abuse among men who batter their female
partners. Yet it is there really a link between alcohol abuse and
domestic violence? No evidence supports a cause-and-effect
relationship between the two problems. The relatively high incidence
of alcohol abuse among men who batter must be viewed as the overlap of two
widespread social problems.
Efforts to link alcohol abuse
and domestic violence reflect society's tendency to view battering as an
individual deviant behavior. Moreover, there is a reluctance to
believe that domestic violence is a pervasive social problem that happens
among all kinds of American families. For these reasons, it is
essential to emphasize what is know about the relationship between alcohol
abuse and domestic violence.
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Battering is a socially
learned behavior, and is not the result of substance abuse or mental
illness. Men who batter frequently use alcohol abuse as an excuse
for their violence. They attempt to rid themselves of
responsibility for the problem by blaming it on the effects of alcohol.
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Many men who batter do not
drink heavily and many alcoholics do not beat their wives. Some
abusers with alcohol problems batter when drunk, and others when they
are sober. For example, Walker's (1994) study of 400 battered
women found that 67 percent of batters frequently abused alcohol;
however, one-fifth had abused alcohol during all four battering
incidents on which data were collected. The study revealed a high
rate of alcohol abuse among nonbatterers.
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In one batterers program, 80
percent of the men had abused alcohol at the time of the latest
battering incident. The vast majority of men, however, also
reportedly battered their partners when not under the influence of
alcohol.
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Data on the concurrence of
domestic violence and alcohol abuse vary widely, from as low as 25
percent to as high as 80 percent of cases.
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