ERIC Number: ED287126
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1987-Apr
Pages: 29
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Reasons for Alcohol Use in Maritally Violent Men.
Fagan, Ronald W.; And Others
Alcohol consumption is often associated with aggressive behaviors. This study compared the contexts and reasons for drinking of maritally violent men (N=44) and three maritally nonviolent comparison groups: happily married men (N=54), unhappily married men (N=41), and men who had been convicted of a violent offense, but who did not beat their wives (N=33). Subjects completed measures of marital violence, marital satisfaction, sociodemographic status, drinking quantity and frequency, parents' drinking, drinking context, reasons for drinking, and alcohol and violence. Compared to the nonviolence groups, the maritally violent group reported higher levels of alcohol consumption in all drinking context items. While significant differences were found, the mean level of consumption in all contexts was relatively low. Maritally violent men reported drinking to forget worries, pains, and stresses in their lives more so than did nonviolent men. At least one-half of the maritally violent men reported that drinking accompanied abusive events at least occasionally, while about one-third reported it often accompanied their abuse. These findings suggest that, while alcohol use may facilitate marital violence, alcohol use and mental abuse may be symptoms of other factors. Therapy should focus on the underlying causes of both the alcohol use and the spouse abuse. (NB)
Descriptors: Aggression, Battered Women, Drinking, Family Violence, Interpersonal Relationship, Males, Marital Satisfaction, Spouses
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Western Psychological Association (67th, Long Beach, CA, April 23-26, 1987).