Domestic violence before and after alcoholism treatment: A two-year longitudinal study

Objective: An initial study of 88 male alcoholics and their wives had shown that domestic violence decreased significantly in the year following a beh avioral marital therapy (BMT) alcoholism treatment program (see J. Cons. Cl in. Psychol. 63: 256-262, 1995). To determine if violence reductions were s table, the present study examined domestic violence during the second year following BMT for the 75 (of the original 88) couples who provided 2-year f ollow-up data on violence. Method: The prevalence and frequency of domestic violence were assessed for 75 male alcoholics and their wives at entry to and at 1 and 2 years after completing BMT. Data on frequency and consequenc es of alcoholics' drinking were collected for the 2-year follow-up period. Comparison rates of domestic violence for a demographically matched nonalco holic sample were derived from a nationally representative survey of violen ce in American families. Results: Husband-to-wife violence occurred in near ly two-thirds of cases in the year before BMT. For both the first and secon d year after BMT, violence was significantly reduced and the extent of viol ence was associated with the extent of the alcoholics' drinking. Frequency of posttreatment drinking was positively correlated with violence, and remi tted alcoholics no longer had elevated domestic violence levels when compar ed with matched controls whereas relapsed alcoholics did. Analyses using va rious assumptions about violence for the 13 cases without violence data sho wed that sample attrition did not invalidate the present results. Conclusio ns: These results indicate that domestic violence decreased after BMT alcoh olism treatment. Further, among remitted alcoholics, violence returned to t he level experienced by other American families, in the same way that other aspects of marital, family and psychosocial functioning improve after succ essful treatment of alcoholism.