Alcoholics more likely to batter their wives

A study conducted by the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and research’s (PGIMER) psychiatry department, and published in the latest issue of the international journal, ‘Drug and Alcohol Dependence’, has found that men who are substance abusers, especially those dependent on alcohol, are more likely to beat their wives.

A study conducted by the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and research’s (PGIMER) psychiatry department, and published in the latest issue of the international journal, ‘Drug and Alcohol Dependence’, has found that men who are substance abusers, especially those dependent on alcohol, are more likely to beat their wives.

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The study, in which the subjects were men and women seeking treatment at a deaddiction centre at the institute, focused on abuse of both alcohol and opioids (psychoactive chemicals resembling morphine and other opiates). According to experts, most studies conducted in India on domestic violence by substance abusers cover only cases where a family member is addicted to liquor.

An analysis of the responses of 267 women who were asked to fill out a questionnaire found 55% of the subjects, whose husbands were substance abusers, were subjected to domestic violence.

The study also found that 63.19% of women who faced such violence were alcohol dependent while 42.33% were opioid users.

The study found that the incidence of domestic violence was associated with the age, lack of education, and unemployment of the spouse, as well as low family income and nuclear families.