Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence

Many experts believe that the largest contributing factor to domestic violence is alcohol. Substance use may play a facilitative role by precipitating or exacerbating violence.

Substance abuse has been found to co-occur in more than half of all domestic violence incidents.
Greater than 20% of male perpetrators self-report using alcohol and/or illicit drugs prior to their most recent and severe acts of violence.
Alcohol alters the mental state of an individual, including emotional processing and rational thinking, making the user unpredictable.
Alcohol can exacerbate symptoms in those with pre-existing psychological or psychiatric comorbidities.
Alcohol-related domestic violence is 2x more likely to involve physical violence including fatal injuries.
Abusers who have been drinking may be more likely to engage in aggression toward a partner because they believe their behavior will be excused because they were intoxicated at the time (“That’s not really me, I was drunk.”)
Victims of domestic violence are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol themselves and engage in other risky behavior.
67% of women seeking treatment for substance use have experienced physical violence in the previous six months.