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

Abstract

Dating violence is a serious and prevalent problem among college-aged dating couples. Although substance use has been shown to be associated with dating violence among college students in empirical studies, the use of substances as they relate to dating violence has yet to be systematically reviewed. The purpose of the present manuscript is to review research on dating violence (perpetration and victimization) and substance use (alcohol and drugs). First, theoretical explanations for the association between substances and dating violence are presented. Second, the literature on substance use and dating violence is reviewed. The literature suggests a consistent association between alcohol and dating violence perpetration and victimization, although the association between drug use and dating violence is less clear. Implications of this review for dating violence prevention programming and future research are discussed.

Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Associated Factors among Male and Female University Students in 22 Countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas

“…In terms of risk factors, this study found in multivariate logistic regression analyses, in agreement with a number of studies 14,[16][17][18][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] , that having experienced childhood physical and sexual abuse, tobacco use, alcohol use in the context of sex, PTSD symptoms and depression symptoms were associated with IPV. In addition, sexual risk behaviour (having had two or more sexual partners in the past year) and having a history of an STI in bivariate analysis was found to be associated with IPV.…”

“…Sociodemographic factors for IPV among university students may include, female gender (although some report similar proportions of IPV between females and males) 16,20,24,25 earlier year of study 18 being single 17,19 and residing in a campus residence 19 . Individual risk factors for IPV may include childhood physical or sexual abuse or other prior victimization as well as history of interparental violence 17,18,25,26 substance use (alcohol and tobacco use) 17,[27][28][29] posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and suicidal behaviour 14,16,24,30,31 and sexual risk behaviour, including sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV [32][33][34] . Protective factors may include lack of peer and parental social support 22 lack of life satisfaction 20,24 high religiosity 35 low perceived control 36 lower Gross national income but not family income 37 .…”

Daily Associations Between Alcohol Consumption and Dating Violence Perpetration Among Men and Women: Effects of Self-Regulation

“…Although alcohol use is included as a situational factor thought to be associated with increased dating violence perpetration, the model does not specifi cally address how alcohol may infl uence this behavior. The proximal effects model provides one conceptual model to explain the link between alcohol use and dating violence and posits that acute alcohol consumption contributes directly to the perpetration of dating violence (Chermack & Taylor, 1995;Leonard & Quigley, 1999;Shorey et al, 2011). Specifi cally, alcohol consumption is thought to impair higher order cognitive processes that may otherwise serve to inhibit aggressive behavior (Giancola, 2000).…”

“…Several other competing theories have been posited to explain the association between alcohol use and aggression, including the indirect effects and the spurious models (Leonard & Quigley, 1999;Shorey et al, 2011). In the indirect effects model, rather than a direct association between alcohol and aggression, alcohol consumption is thought to infl uence other variables (e.g., relationship satisfaction; Kelly & Halford, 2006), and these other variables in turn contribute to partner aggression (e.g., O'Leary et al, 1994).…”

“…Although trait aggressivity or a history of aggression has been associated with subsequent aggression (Eaton et al, 2007;Roudsari et al, 2009), the relationship between alcohol and aggression typically remains signifi cant after these factors have been controlled (Kaufman-Kantor & Straus, 1990;Leonard & Senchak, 1996), suggesting that the indirect effects and spurious models may not provide the best explanation for the association between alcohol and aggression. The proximal effects model has received the most empirical support (for a review, see Shorey et al, 2011) and was the focus of our investigation.…”