Substance use and intimate violence among incarcerated males

The purpose of this study was to examine substance use patterns among a sam ple of incarcerated males who report engaging in levels of intimate violenc e as well as identifying similarities and differences in demographic, econo mic status, mental health, criminal justice involvement, relationships, and treatment factors for three groups of incarcerated males - those who repor t perpetrating low intimate violence those who report perpetrating low inti mate violence, and those who report perpetrating extreme intimate violence the year preceding their current incarceration. Findings indicated that low intimate violence group's perpetration consisted almost exclusively of emo tional abuse. Moderately intimate violent males and extremely intimate viol ent males however report not only high rates of emotional abuse but physica l abuse as well. The distinction between moderate and extremely violent gro ups was substantial. Findings also indicated that perpetrators at different levels of violence in this study, did not vary significantly in age employ ment history, marital status or race However, the three groups showed signi ficant differences in three main areas: (I) cocaine and alcohol use pattern s (2) stranger violence perpetration and victimization experiences, and (3) emotional discomfort. Implications for substance abuse and mental health t reatment interventions and for future research are discussed.