Impact of Substance Abuse Treatment on Marital Violence

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APPLICANT'S ABSTRACT: This application is a request for a Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23) from NIAAA. I am strongly committed to a career in patient-oriented research. I believe that the educational opportunities in which I will be able to participate as a result of a K23 award will lead to further development of the skills necessary to become a productive, independent researcher. The proposed training experiences will include: collaboration with excellent mentors (Dr. Richard Brown"Dr. Kenneth Leonard, and Dr. Robert Stout), active participation in the Brown University Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies academic activities, advanced courses in multivariate statistics, and regular presentations at national conferences. The reduction of marital violence is a health priority for the US. There is extensive theoretical and empirical evidence linking alcohol and drug abuse and marital violence. Marital violence is over represented in individuals seeking treatment for alcohol and drug abuse. The efficacy of treatments designed to address marital violence is questionable, with research suggesting that treatment for marital violence is relatively ineffective. It has been suggested that maritally violent individuals who abuse alcohol and drugs require substance abuse treatment before addressing their violent behavior. However, the extent to which treatment for alcohol and drug abuse (which does not include interventions specifically targeting marital violence) will ameliorate subsequent marital violence is currently unknown. Given the high comorbidity of marital violence and alcohol and drug abuse, it is critical to assess the extent to which substance abuse treatment for alcohol dependent patients impacts marital violence. The proposed study assesses the impact of substance abuse treatment for alcohol dependent patients on marital violence and psychological abuse. Alcohol and drug use and abuse, marital violence, psychological abuse, and marital satisfaction will be assessed in a sample of alcohol dependent patients receiving substance abuse treatment. These variables will be assessed at pretreatment and at 6-month and 12-month follow-up. At each assessment point we will also contact the patients' partners to obtain collateral data regarding the patients' use of substances, marital violence, and psychological abuse, as well as to collect data on these variables in the partners.