Alcohol Consumption and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration Among College Students: The Role of Self-Determination

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective:The present research examined the role of self-determination theory in alcohol consumption and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration among college students. We were interested in evaluating the extent to which individual differences in self-determination (i.e., autonomous and controlled orientations) may infl uence problematic alcohol use and male-to-female IPV perpetration and the extent to which problem drinking may mediate the associations between self-determination and IPV perpetration. Method: A total of 313 incoming heterosexual, male freshman drinkers at a large northwestern university between the ages of 18 and 21 years completed self-report measures of autonomous and controlled orientations, alcohol use, and IPV perpetration as part of a larger social norms intervention study. Analyses evaluated the infl uence of autonomous and controlled orientations on alcohol consumption, associated problems, and IPV perpetration. Results: The proposed model fi t the data relatively well, χ 2 (11, N = 313) = 32.19, p = NS, root mean square error of approximation = .079, normed fi t index = .95, nonnormed fi t index = .93, comparative fi t index = .96. Both autonomous and controlled orientations had signifi cant direct and indirect effects on perpetration through alcohol consumption. Although the model fi t the data well, it explained a relatively small amount of variance in both alcohol consumption (5%) and perpetration (7%). Conclusions: Findings support previous research implicating the role of alcohol in IPV perpetration. Additionally, our fi ndings suggest that self-determination theory may be a useful heuristic in the examination of individual characteristics that promote alcohol consumption and IPV perpetration. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 71, 78-85, 2010)

Dating violence and substance use in college students: A review of the literature

“…A number of cross-sectional studies have shown that alcohol problems are related to perpetration (Baker & Stith, 2008; Fossos, Neighbors, Kaysen, & Hove, 2007; Hove, Parkhill, Neighbors, McConchie, & Fossos, 2010), and perpetrators have more alcohol problems than non-perpetrators (Cogan & Ballinger, 2006; Lundeberg, Stith, Penn, & Ward, 2004). Alcohol problems refer to problems that occur as a result of alcohol use, such as drinking and driving, arguments, etc.…”

Consumo de alcohol, sustancias ilegales y violencia hacia la pareja en una muestra de maltratadores en tratamiento psicológico

“…Langenderfer (2013) carried out a meta-analysis with 8 studies on intimate partner violence and use of alcohol, concluding that rates of perpetration of violent acts by men on their partners ranged from 4% to 78.1% (Cunradi, 2009;Hove, Parkhill, Neighbors, McConchie, & Fossos, 2010;Lipsky & Caetano, 2011;McKinney, Caetano, Ramisetty-Mikler, & Nelson, 2009;Rhodes et al, 2009;Taft, Schumm, Orazem, Meis, & Pinto, 2010), while of those men who reported having been violent towards their partners, between 9% and 59.7% reported having got drunk (5 or more alcoholic drinks) (Cunradi, 2009;Lipsky & Caetano, 2011;McKinney et al, 2009), and between and 17.8% and 50% said they had sometimes drunk excessively (Lipsky & Caetano, 2011;Rhodes et al, 2009). Finally, Langenderfer (2013 points out that alcohol problems correlate to a statistically significant degree with intimate partner violence (Hove et al, 2010).…”

Self-determination, perceived approval, and drinking: Differences between Asian Americans and Whites

“…Since gaining external approval can be difficult to maintain but easy to lose, controlled individuals exert an exorbitant amount of effort in regulating their behaviors; but ironically, feel less in control of their overall fate, because their decisions have been heavily influenced by external factors. Thus, controlled orientation has been linked to such negative consequences as higher levels of stress (Deci & Ryan, 1985a); increased aggression (Deci & Ryan, 1985b); and committing acts of violence against an intimate partner (Hove, Parkhill, Neighbors, McConchie, & Foss, 2010). …”