Mean Girls

Women usually are known for being gentle, non-aggressive individuals and are also usually thought to be victims of substance abuse, as studied in class, a woman is more likely to be abused when she lives with a man who suffers from a substance abuse disorder. However, nothing was mentioned in the textbook about a man’s likelihood of being an abuse victim. According to research regarding intimate partner violence, men are also at risk of being a victim of substance abuse from his partner. Nearly two-thirds of women who seek treatment for a substance abuse disorder have admitted to abusing their partners. The study also found that intimate partner violence is fairly consistent between men, women, and different countries, there is not a significant difference in any of these categories. The research was conducted on females only and was compared with past research conducted on males. The study also calculated what the women’s blood alcohol concentration would have been at the time of the incident. The blood alcohol concentration was measured based on gender, body weight, number of standard drinks, and time since the first drink. The study showed that sixty-two percent of intimate partner violence occurs when both partners are violent towards each other, nineteen percent of intimate partner violence occurs when only the man is acting out violently, and nineteen percent of intimate partner violence occurs when only the woman is acting out violently. Ninety percent of nonviolent conflicts occur when both the male and female partners are acting aggressively, seven percent of nonviolent conflict occurs when only the man acts aggressively, and three percent of nonviolent conflict occurs when only the female acts aggressively. The study shows that not only men who suffer from a substance abuse disorder can commit violent acts against women, but women also commit violent acts against men while suffering from a substance abuse disorder. 

Abstract

Alcohol consumption and partner violence among women entering substance use disorder treatment.Kaufmann, Vyga G.; O’Farrell, Timothy J.; Murphy, Christopher M.; Murphy, Marie M.; Muchowski, Patrice[Journal Article]Psychology of Addictive Behaviors,  Vol 28(2), Jun 2014, 313-321. doi: 10.1037/a0034971.