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Alcohol availability, domestic violence linked

Albuquerque Journal (NM) - 12/26/2014

Dec. 26--A review of several studies on drinking has found a strong link between the number of establishments in a community that sell or serve alcohol and intimate-partner violence, or domestic violence.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that the more places that market alcohol, the higher the rate of violence between spouses and lovers.

Albuquerque is certainly among those cities with a high density of stores selling or serving alcohol, according to local health officials.

"Mental health practitioners have long known that where there are a lot of bars and liquor stores, and even grocery stores that sell alcohol, there is a heightened risk of intimate-partner violence," said Stephanie McIver, director of counseling services and a clinical psychologist at the University of New Mexico'sStudent Health & Counseling.

That knowledge, however, was anecdotal and hypothetical until the CDC came out with its verifying report, she said.

The CDC review of 16 previous studies is published in January's Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. It strongly suggests that laws limiting "alcohol outlet density" could be one way to address violence within intimate relationships.

McIver said violence in relationships is often linked to substance abuse, especially when the substance is alcohol.

Many of her clients are women in either straight or lesbian relationships, she said, referring specifically to one student who was involved with another woman until an alcohol-infused violent confrontation.

She also spoke of gay men, including one relationship that ended in a sexual assault when one of the men was drunk.

"We tend to think of it as a heterosexual problem, but any relationship in which substances are a prominent variable will be an unhealthy relationship," she said.

For university students, the risk of intimate-partner violence increases during the "peak" period of a semester. In the fall term, that means from about the end of September until Thanksgiving. In the spring, the peak period lasts from late February through the end of April. New cases of violence tend to taper off as finals approach, McIver said.

During peak times, UNM's SHAC counselors see about 40 new clients per week, about half reporting some kind of substance abuse -- their own or that of their partners.

"The surprise we've had over the years is how frequently young college students dealing with their first love also find themselves in a violent relationship," she said.

Among the general population, the period leading up to and including the Super Bowl seems to be the worst time for violence among intimate partners, particularly heterosexual relationships.

"The Super Bowl is a period of heightened arousal," McIver said. "People often have money riding on the game. It's a high-stakes event that often includes alcohol. Emotions are running high."

Brandi Fink, a clinical psychologist and professor in UNM's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, said Albuquerque's efforts to reduce alcohol-related problems have worked. She pointed to the closing of certain bars on Central Avenue and drive-through liquor stores.

"Once they closed, alcohol problems were reduced," she said.

Violence is not only linked to the number of alcohol-serving establishments in a given community, Fink said, but also to the frequency and time of a person's last drink.

She referred to several studies involving college-age men and women, one of which found a 13 percent increased risk for intimate-partner violence with every drink consumed. In other studies, young men were almost three times more likely to become violent on days of heavy drinking, and young females almost 11 times more likely to engage in reciprocal intimate-partner violence on such days.

Yet another study found that women arrested for intimate-partner violence or court-referred for treatment were almost eight times more likely to perpetrate minor incidents, such as pushing and slapping, on days when any drinking occurred. And they were 13 times more likely to perpetrate severe acts of violence -- punching, beating up, using a weapon -- on such days.

The same women were almost 16 times more likely to perpetrate minor incidents and more than eight times more likely to initiate severe violence when drinking heavily. Furthermore, the same women were 17 percent to 20 percent more likely to engage in violence with each additional drink.

"The results are pretty staggering," Fink said.

Although "gender symmetry" is still somewhat controversial in treatment programs and courts, "it is widely accepted throughout the scientific community that males and females are as likely to be perpetrators of IPV, including perpetrators of severe violence, and that this is not related to defending oneself," she said.

The CDC review was led by behavioral scientist Dennis Reidy. He and his colleagues examined studies that compared alcohol outlet density, hours and days of sale, and pricing and taxes.

The only factor consistently linked to rates of intimate-partner violence was alcohol outlet density, defined as the number of on-premise establishments -- bars and restaurants -- and off-premise retailers -- liquor, grocery and convenience stores -- divided by square miles or population of a given area.

"The studies that we reviewed do not indicate that alcohol outlet density or the outlets themselves cause partner violence," Reidy said. "However, our findings suggest that local regulation of alcohol outlet density may be able to reduce rates of intimate partner violence within a community."

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