Author : Amanda L. Stein
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 83 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (727 download)
Book Synopsis Alcohol Use and Health Outcomes Among Women Victims of Intimate Partner Violence by : Amanda L. Stein
Download or read book Alcohol Use and Health Outcomes Among Women Victims of Intimate Partner Violence written by Amanda L. Stein and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 83 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is known that intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with psychological and physical health problems (Coker et al., 2002; Fisher & Regan, 2006). Although victims' alcohol use has been associated with IPV (Cunradi, Caetano, & Schafer, 2002; Lemon, Verhoek-Oftedahl, & Donnelly, 2002), alcohol use has generally been examined as a risk factor or outcome variable. An alternate model, not yet thoroughly examined, is that alcohol use interacts with IPV to increase the risk of health-related problems. The present study was designed to elucidate the interrelationships of IPV experience, alcohol use, and health outcomes. Particular emphasis was placed on psychological IPV because it has been less studied despite evidence that it is uniquely related to health (Fisher & Regan, 2006; Follingstad, 2007). The study focused exclusively on women because studies suggest that the consequences of IPV are more severe for women than for men (Coker et al., 2002; Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). The main hypothesis was that the relationship between IPV and health outcomes is moderated by alcohol use and that increased alcohol use would be associated with poorer health outcomes. A sample of 6,725 participants from a public data set available from the National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was used. Lifetime physical, sexual, and psychological IPV, psychological IPV chronology, and alcohol use frequency were investigated as predictors, and perceived health and depressive symptoms were outcome variables. Results indicated that women who had experienced physical/sexual IPV or psychological IPV in their lifetimes reported more frequent depressive symptoms than those who denied a history of IPV. Women who reported psychological IPV during their lifetime also had poorer perceived health. Current, but not past, psychological IPV was associated with poorer perceived health and more frequent depressive symptoms, consistent with previous findings. Contrary to the hypothesized effects, the presence of lifetime physical/sexual IPV was not significantly related to perceived health in this sample. Also counterintuitively, use of alcohol for a larger number of days each week during the past year was associated with slightly better perceived health and fewer depressive symptoms, although total volume consumed was not measured. None of the interactions between alcohol use frequency and IPV were significant. The findings illustrate that psychological IPV is an essential variable for understanding IPV victims' well-being and should be included in future investigations of victimization. Current psychological IPV was more impactful than past psychological IPV on current health, even though participants on average perceived themselves as relatively healthy and reported relatively infrequent depressive symptoms. One could infer that victims may be able to cope more effectively when abusive experiences have been relatively infrequent, less severe, or have ceased to occur. It will be important to verify these results in participants who report greater alcohol use frequency and poorer health and also to assess the impact of demographic factors on the reported findings.
