NCJ Number
180647
Journal
Journal of Studies on Alcohol Volume: 60 Dated: May 1999 Pages: 317-321
Date Published
1999
Length
5 pages
Annotation
An initial study of 88 male alcoholics and their wives showed that domestic violence decreased significantly in the year following a behavioral marital therapy (BMT) alcoholism treatment program.
Abstract
To determine if violence reductions were stable, domestic violence was examined during the second year following BMT for 75 of the original 88 couples who provided 2-year follow-up data on violence. The prevalence and frequency of domestic violence were assessed at entry and at 1 and 2 years after completing BMT. Data on the frequency and consequences of alcoholism were collected for the 2-year follow-up period. Comparison rates of domestic violence for a demographically matched non-alcoholic sample were derived from a nationally representative survey of violence in American families. Results showed that husband-to-wife violence occurred in nearly two-thirds of cases in the year before BMT. For both the first and the second year after BMT, violence was significantly reduced and the extent of violence was associated with the extent of drinking. The frequency of post-treatment drinking was positively correlated with violence, and remitted alcoholics no longer had elevated domestic violence levels when compared with matched controls, whereas relapsed alcoholics did. Analyses using various assumptions about violence for 13 cases without violence data showed sample attrition did not invalidate the results. Overall, domestic violence decreased after BMT alcoholism treatment. Further, among remitted alcoholics, violence returned to the levels experienced by other American families, in the same way other aspects of marital, family, and psycho-social functioning improved after successful alcoholism treatment. 14 references, 1 note, and 1 table