Women who experience recurrent intimate partner violence (IPV) may use alcohol or drugs because they expect that these substances will help them cope with the negative physical and psychological sequelae of IPV. However, expectancies for alcohol and drug use have not been explored among this population of women. We used the Relaxation and Tension-Reduction, Arousal and Aggression, and Social Assertion scales of the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (Brown, Christiansen, & Goldman, 1987) and modified its items to assess both alcohol and drug expectancies of 212 community-based, IPV-exposed women. Results of bivariate correlations showed that greater alcohol and drug expectancies were significantly correlated with greater alcohol problems and greater posttraumatic stress total and symptom severity scores. Results of a multivariate regression model showed that, after controlling for demographic characteristics and history of childhood trauma, Relaxation and Tension-Reduction expectancies were associated with number of days of alcohol use, alcohol problems, physical and sexual IPV severity scores, and posttraumatic stress total and re-experiencing symptom severity scores. Expectancies do not significantly moderate the relations between IPV, posttraumatic stress, and problematic alcohol and drug use. Given the strong relations of expectancies with IPV severity, posttraumatic stress, and alcohol problems, expectancies may serve as targets for interventions to reduce alcohol use and problems and improve health-related outcomes in IPV-exposed women.

The purpose of the study was to (a) explore the relationship between sexual cultural scripting and traditional masculine norms on changes in intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration, and (b) examine traditional masculine norms as an effect modifier among young heterosexual men. This study is a secondary data analysis of a prospective cohort study of 119 young heterosexual men who were followed for 6 months. The adjusted logistic regression results revealed that sexual cultural scripting norms were associated with an increased odds of emotional IPV perpetration and traditional masculine norms were associated with an increased odds of physical IPV perpetration in the past 6 months. There were no significant interaction effects between sexual cultural scripting and traditional masculine norms on IPV perpetration. These findings suggest that socially constructed norms and beliefs surrounding masculinity, femininity, and how women and men interact in sexual relationships are important constructs for understanding the etiology of young men's use of violence against a female partner. While primary IPV interventions targeting young men do address masculinity, sexual cultural scripting is an additional concept that should also be addressed.

An experience sampling method (ESM) rarely has been applied in studies of intimate partner violence (IPV) despite the benefits to be gained. Because ESM approaches and women who experience IPV present unique challenges for data collection an empirical question exists: is it safe and feasible to apply ESM to community women who currently are experiencing IPV? A 90-day, design-driven feasibility study examined daily telephone data collection, daily paper diaries, and monthly retrospective semi-structured interview methods among a community sample of 123 women currently experiencing IPV to study within-person relationships between IPV and substance use. Findings suggest that ESM is a promising method for collecting data among this population and can elucidate daily dynamics of victimization as well as associated behaviors and experiences. Lessons learned from the application of ESM to this population are also discussed. KeywordsPartner violence; Experience Sampling Method; Research methods; Feasibility; Safety An experience sampling method (ESM) rarely has been applied in studies of violence against women, or intimate partner violence (IPV) specifically, despite the method's increasing application and successful implementation in other fields of research over the past three decades (Hektner, Schmidt, & Csikszentmihalyi, 2007). ESM is a data collection method whereby respondents self-report experiences and behaviors in their natural environment and in near real time, which improves the reliability and validity of data by reducing recall bias (Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1987;Hektner et al., 2007;Stone, Shiffman, Alienza, & Nebeling, 2007). The absence of ESM in IPV research is disappointing because, despite the challenges of applying ESM to investigations of women who experience IPV, there potentially are extraordinary benefits. Benefits include ESM's ability to provide data to better elucidate the phenomenology of IPV; examine proximal relationships between IPV, behaviors, and experiences; explicate temporal relationships; and Correspondence concerning this article should be sent to Tami P. Sullivan, Ph.D., Division of Prevention and Community, Research and The Consultation Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, School of Medicine, 389 Whitney Ave, New Haven, CT, 06511, or, tami.sullivan@yale.edu. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptViolence Against Women. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 February 1. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript identify contingencies between IPV and related phenomena which can be targeted in intervention.Concerns about and challenges of conducting research with women who have experienced violence and trauma are well documented. Principal concerns are centered on the physical safety and mental well-being of participants (Black, Kresnow, Simon, Arias, & Shelley, 2006;Campbell, Adams, Wasco, Ahrens, & Sefl, 2010;Carlson et al., 2003;Clements & Holtzworth-Munroe, 2009;Garcia-Moreno, 2002;Griffin, Resick, Waldrop, & Mechanic, 2003;...