An investigation of the relationship between domestic violence and chemical dependency
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Authors
Eiland, Benjamin M.
Issue Date
2000
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Psychology
Alternative Title
Abstract
As a step towards clarifying the relationship between alcohol and drug use and domestic violence, this study examined the extent to which men involved in such behavior would be considered chemically dependent rather than merely under the influence of alcohol or some other substance at the time of their violent acts. Forty-three men convicted of spousal abuse and participating in a 52 week batterers re-education program were given the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory 3 (SASSI-3). It was found that 60% of the subjects met the SASSI-3 criteria for chemical dependency, which compares to 10% for the general population. This difference is significant and suggests that a diagnosis of chemical dependency may indeed be an important variable and should be given more emphasis in the design of domestic violence treatment programs.