Drug abuse and aggression between intimate partners: A meta-analytic review
Abstract
The present investigation employed meta-analytic procedures to quantitatively evaluate the empirical evidence on the relationship between drug abuse and aggression between intimate partners. Data from 96 studies yielding 547 effect sizes indicated that increases in drug use and drug-related problems were significantly associated with increases in aggression between intimate partners (d = .27). Cocaine emerged as the illicit substance with the strongest relationship to psychological, physical, and sexual aggression (ds = .39 to .62). Marijuana was also identified as having a significant association with partner aggression. Results showed comparable effect sizes for men and women, regardless of the sex of the drug user and/or perpetrator of partner aggression, with female reports of aggression having yielded larger effect sizes than male reports. Moderator analyses revealed that relative to other groups, married or cohabiting couples and Black participants evidenced significantly stronger effect sizes. The findings are discussed in relation to possible mechanisms linking drugs to partner aggression, and implications for future research are discussed in terms of focusing on conducting studies that assess the interaction of context and temporal sequencing of drugs and partner aggression.
Section snippets
Theories of drug use and partner aggression
Several models have been advanced to account for the relationship between drug use and general interpersonal aggression; these models may also help explain the relationship between drug use and intimate partner aggression. Goldstein's (1995) tripartite conceptual framework posited 3 possible links between drug use and aggression. The first stems from psychopharmacological effects of drugs (e.g., perceptual distortions), which may increase arousal and irrational behavior leading to aggression.
Sample of studies
Several steps were employed to obtain a total of 547 effect sizes from 96 studies included in this meta-analysis. To identify and obtain as many studies as possible for inclusion, we generally followed the recommendations of Johnson and Eagly (2000). First, several extensive computer-based searches were undertaken using the PsycInfo, Medline, WorldCat, and ERIC databases. We used a concurrent search process with PsycInfo and Medline to eliminate searching redundant articles. To minimize the
Study characteristics
Table 1 displays the summary of study characteristics used in effect size analyses (a detailed listing of every study included in the meta-analysis and their respective sample size, age, and other study characteristics are available upon request). The total sample size was 79,698. As summarized in Table 1, the vast majority of studies were published in empirical journals since 1990. In fact, approximately 60% of the studies were published or completed since 2000. The settings used to obtain
Discussion
The purpose of the present meta-analysis was to quantitatively review the available literature on the relationship between drug use and intimate partner aggression perpetration and victimization by men and women. Results from 96 studies and nearly 80,000 participants showed a statistically significant average composite effect size (d = .27), and this effect increased slightly (d = .32) upon removing study outliers. While considered a small effect size, the findings suggest that the odds of intimate
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Mark Lipsey for providing guidance on this project through the sharing his coding manual and other materials that greatly informed this meta-analytic review; Blair Johnson for guidance on using DSTAT software and answering question about meta-analytic procedures; and Katherine Follansbee and Meggan Bucossi for assisting in data collection.
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