Using data from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examined intimate partner violence (IPV) and drinking partnerships in 741 young adults in male-female dating, cohabitating, and married relationships. Cluster analyses revealed four similar kinds of drinking partnerships: (a) congruent light and infrequent, (b) discrepant male heavy and frequent, (c) discrepant female heavy and infrequent, and (d) congruent moderate/heavy-frequent drinkers. Overall, there were no significant main effect differences across relationship type and clusters. The type of relationship and the type of drinking partnership interacted with contexts examined (i.e., type of violence severity, gender, and whether the violence was perpetration or victimization). Given the severity of IPV in couple relationships, additional empirical attention to drinking partnerships is warranted.
Drinking PartnershipsViolence in intimate relationships is an important social problem affecting many young adults. Research concludes that a common factor for intimate partner violence (IPV) in romantic relationships is the consumption of alcohol (Caetano, McGrath, Ramisetty-Mikler, & Field, 2005;Fals-Stewart, 2003;Fals-Stewart, Golden, & Schumacher, 2003;Leadley, Clark, & Caetano, 2000;Lipsky, Caetano, Field, & Larkin, 2005;O'Leary & Schumacher, 2003;White & Chen, 2002). Alcohol consumption (Windle, 2003) and violence are highest during young adulthood with violence peaking between 21 and 29 (Perkins, 1997
NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript varying levels of IPV. Thus, when examining rates of IPV, it is important to take into consideration the age of the individuals, as well as characteristics of the intimate relationship (e.g., dating, cohabiting, or married).Researchers have started to understand the risk factors, characteristics, and correlates of alcohol and IPV, but there are still many gaps as well as contradictory findings in the literature. First, understanding the association of IPV and alcohol use in young adults needs further examination. Additional information on risks for IPV would advance understanding of the etiology of IPV. Second, measurement of IPV is especially important due to the pervasiveness of partner violence. Assessing both perpetration and victimization reports of IPV is critical to the documentation of IPV occurrences. For example, men and women exhibit different patterns of being perpetrators and victims of IPV depending on how IPV is measured and whether severity of IPV is taken into account (Weston, Temple, & Marshall, 2005).Third, generalized findings on IPV are modified once both partners' behaviors and outcomes are examined. The majority of the IPV research relies on only one relationship member's report of their own and their partner's characteristics. Studies that include reports by both partners are better able to distinguish aspects of violence that are present (e.g., minor vs. severe, perpetration vs. victimization) in romantic relationships (Will...
