Binge Drinking and Violence In Couples

While the link between alcohol and abuse has long been recognized, a new study has identified links in physical aggression between intimate partners to drinking pattern, age and marital status.

The research, published in the new book "Unhappy Hours: alcohol and partner aggression in the Americas," revealed interesting gender differences in the emotional responses of victims and aggressors, and includes victimization and perpetration by both male and female partners.

Binge drinking was strongly associated with being both the perpetrator and victim of partner abuse, with people who reported that alcohol was involved in the most severe incident that they had experienced in the past two years showing the pattern particularly strongly. These findings were mirrored across the other nine countries included in the analyses, suggesting that the relationship between alcohol consumption and intimate partner violence is similar across diverse cultures and drinking patterns. These findings emphasize the need for family support in treating an addiction.

There is was a very consistent link between amount consumed per occasion and engaging in partner violence, suggesting that it is intoxication rather than merely alcohol use that provides the link.

The study also showed that abuse became less likely as people became older, and happened less among legally married couples, compared to cohabiting, divorced/separated or single people. As might be expected, female victims rated aggression by the male partner as more severe and themselves as more afraid, upset and angry compared with ratings by male victims, but female aggressors also had high ratings for feeling upset and angry, suggesting a possible gender difference in the emotional impact of partner aggression.

While it is never easy trying to help a loved one with an addiction, this study underlines the importance of seeking help if you are in a relationship where one or both of you is drinking too much. According to the study, five drinks or more was particularly unsafe for escalating the risk of violence. If you find yourself in this situation, the first step is effective communication. There are many resources available, and I would recommend you seek help for yourself and your partner.