Lin, M., Tuller, A., Griffing, S., Sage, R., & Madry, L.(2011, June). Fear of being killed by an intimate partner: The impact of substance abuse. Poster to be presented at the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, Hollywood, FL.

Among heterosexual couples, research has found an association among increases in intimate partner violence (IPV) and both men and women’s use of alcohol and/or drugs (Fals-Stewart, 2003; Kantor & Straus, 1989). These data are consistent with our research finding, which has shown a significant relationship between batterer substance abuse and the severity of domestic violence. However, one recent study found that after controlling for men’s use of alcohol, women’s alcohol use was no longer significantly associated with an increase in IPV (Lipsky et al., 2005). This begs the question: do woman use in response to IPV or does IPV increase when a victim uses alcohol or drugs? Women experiencing IPV frequently develop a fear of their partner and may become afraid for their life (Olson et al., 2008). The purpose of this study is to explore whether the batterers’ use of alcohol and/or drugs increases fear in their partner and if women turn to alcohol and/or drugs in response to this fear. One hundred seventeen women were recruited from three emergency domestic violence shelters in New York City. Participants provided yes or no responses to questions regarding their male batterers’ alcohol and substance abuse and their fear of being killed by their batterer, as part of the Danger Assessment (Campbell, 2003). Participants also indicated whether they themselves had used alcohol and/or drugs within the past six months. A series of chi square analyses yielded significant results among batters’ alcohol abuse and victims’ fear (c2(1,n=117) =6.23 p=.001). Seventy-five percent of participants who described their batterer as an alcoholic believe their batterer is capable of killing them. No significant relationships were found among batters’ drug use and victims’ fear or victims’ fear and their own use of alcohol or drugs. However, only 32% of participants who believe their partner is capable of killing them reported having used alcohol or drugs within the past six months. These findings suggest that males’ alcohol abuse may increase victim’s fear of their partner and may further complicate mental health responses to IPV.