Substance Use and Family Violence

Substance use is not considered a cause of domestic violence, and in fact, many batterers are violent when not intoxicated. Many also continue to batter after successfully completing substance treatment and while remaining abstinent from substances.
Substance use is, however, significantly related to the increased risk, severity and even lethality of intimate partner violence. Further, substance use is also significant in other forms of family violence such as child abuse and neglect.

Research has shown that perpetrators of domestic violence are frequently under the influence of alcohol or other drugs during an episode of violence. In fact, regular alcohol use is considered to be one of the high risk factors in determining the potential for an incident of partner violence. Additionally, an incident of violence in which the perpetrator is abusing alcohol frequently results in more severe violence and greater harm to the victim. The US Department of Justice found in a 1994 study that more than half of the lethal incidents of domestic violence involved alcohol use by the perpetrator during the homicide. … Continue Reading

How to Show Compassion for an Addicted Loved One – Without Being a Doormat

When there’s an addict in the family, it takes an emotional and sometimes physical toll on everyone. Sure, you want to be understanding. It’s tough enough for the addict to admit he or she has a problem with alcohol or substance abuse, or gambling, compulsive sexual behavior, and eating disorder or overwork. Your loved one may not yet be ready to acknowledge the problem, or isn’t quite able to reach out for help. You’re left to bear the brunt of the addict’s roller coaster of emotional outbursts, as well as the binges, broken promises, missing money, and possible physical violence. While you do want to show compassion, you don’t want to be a doormat. Here are some suggestions. … Continue Reading

Study Examines Changing Trends in Parental Influence of Teen Substance Use

The parental influence on a teen’s likelihood of engaging in risky behavior such as alcohol and drug use is significant. In a recent study, “Four Generations Overcoming Addiction,” produced by a Minnesota-based treatment center, nearly half of the parents interviewed admit to using alcohol or drugs as a teenager to get drunk or high.

… Continue Reading

Single Fathers: How Substance Abuse Perpetuates the Stereotype of Deadbeat Dads

By LeAnne Bagnall

Too often, the media relays images of today’s American father in a rather dishonorable, scornful, and offensive light, which may seem out of tune with a customarily prideful and patriotically minded nation. In the news, we hear of irresponsible dads who are absent from the picture, unwilling to support their families, and who choose to carouse in their drunken revelry instead of behaving like a good father should.

… Continue Reading

Effects of Alcohol Abuse on the Family

Alcohol abuse is a serious enough problem for the individual who has it. But the effects of alcohol abuse extend beyond the individual to the entire family, often with extremely damaging consequences.

… Continue Reading

Drug Addiction: Family Risk Factors

Whether you live on a cozy cul-de-sac in Connecticut, in a farming community in Iowa, on the beach at Malibu or in one of our nation’s inner-cities, it is highly probable that you know a family impacted by drug addiction. Perhaps that family is yours. Addiction knows no boundaries; it crosses every socio-economic line, does not spare those who are highly intelligent or those that come from a “good family”. In fact, drug addiction is an equal-opportunity destroyer.

… Continue Reading