141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

281466
Alcohol and intimate partner violence - what do longitudinal studies tell us? a systematic literature review

Wednesday, November 6, 2013 : 10:30 AM - 10:50 AM

Katherine Austin, MD, FAAP, FRCP(C) , School of Public Health, Mt Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
Background: While there is a strong association between alcohol and intimate partner violence, the majority of studies demonstrating this relationship are cross-sectional. There remains a vigorous debate as to whether there is a causal relationship between alcohol and IPV perpetration. Many argue that the apparent association may be moderated, or even confounded by other factors such as alcohol expectancies, male attitudes towards females, attitudes that aggression is acceptable, and personality characteristics such as antisocial personality disorder. Longitudinal studies may offer more information about a possible causal relationship.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted using the databases PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, ASSIA and Sociologic Abstracts for studies published between between the dates of January of 1997 and June of 2012 , using a detailed search-strategy and cross-checking of reference lists. All studies focused on the relationship between alcohol and IPV and were longitudinal in design. The search resulted in 27 studies which met the inclusion criteria and were felt to be of sufficient quality.

Results/Discussion: A narrative synthesis of the findings of the 27 studies is presented with a discussion of the evidence for and against a causal relationship between alcohol and intimate partner violence.

Learning Areas:
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the results of empirical quantitative studies of the past 15 years that have longitudinal data relating to the association between alcohol and intimate partner violence (IPV). Analyze the results to draw conclusions about the relationship between alcohol and IPV Evaluate the significance of the results in terms of their usefulness in develping alcohol or IPV interventions

Keywords: Alcohol Use, Domestic Violence

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist. My thesis for a Masters in Public Health is a systematic literature review on the subject of alcohol and intimate partner violence
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.