Helping News May, 2012 Issue 46
The Link Between Intimate Partner
Violence, Substance Abuse and Mental
Health in California
Elaine Zahnd, May Aydin, David Grant and Sue Holtby
Health Policy Brief
August, 2011
SUMMARY: This policy brief presents findings on the linkages between intimate partner violence (IPV), emotional health and substance use among adults ages 18-65 in California. Among the 3.5 million Californians who have ever been victimized by IPV as adults, over half a million report serious psychological distress (SPD) in the past year. Almost half of all adult IPV victims indicate that their partner was under the influence of alcohol or other drugs during the most recent incident.
Two-fifths of adult IPV victims
report past-year binge drinking
and 7% report daily or weekly
binge drinking. One in three IPV
victims expressed a need for
mental health, alcohol or other
drug (AOD) services and almost
one-fourth used mental health or
AOD services during the past year.
These disturbing findings can aid
strategies to identify, intervene
with and assist IPV victims who
experience emotional and/or substance
use problems.
More information coming...