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Relationships among alcohol use, hyperarousal, and marital abuse and violence in Vietnam veterans
Author(s) -
Savarese Vincent W.,
Suvak Michael K.,
King Lynda A.,
King Daniel W.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1023/a:1013038021175
Subject(s) - psychology , clinical psychology , injury prevention , poison control , fight or flight response , alcohol abuse , suicide prevention , domestic violence , psychiatry , human factors and ergonomics , medicine , medical emergency , biochemistry , chemistry , gene
Alcohol use (frequency and quantity) and the hyperarousal feature of PTSD were examined in relation to male‐perpetrated marital abuse and violence using data from 376 couples who participated in the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study. Veteran's self‐reported hyperarousal was significantly associated with partner's report of physical violence and psychological abuse toward her. Differential relationships were found between veteran's self‐reported drinking frequency and drinking quantity and the outcomes; of the two components, only the average quantity consumed per occasion was independently related to husband‐to‐wife violence. Moreover, a complex interaction emerged between hyperarousal and the two dimensions of alcohol consumption in predicting violence, with the relationship between hyperarousal and violence varying as a function of both drinking frequency and drinking quantity.