This study examines the association between alcohol outlet density and intimate partner violence (IPV) among a nationally representative sample of young adults. Previous research examining the association between alcohol use and IPV has focused on individual level factors, essentially ignoring the contributions of environmental factors such as alcohol outlet density. Therefore, based on ecological theories that posit that environmental factors influence individual behavior by influencing community norms and regulation of behavior, this study will examine direct effects of alcohol outlet density on IPV while also including potential mediating and moderating variables and controlling for confounders. Previous research has found strong correlations between individual alcohol use and IPV. Ecological studies examining the association between alcohol outlet density and negative outcomes have found that increased alcohol outlet density is associated with greater alcohol consumption and violent behaviors. The dynamics surrounding alcohol availability and IPV, however, may be quite different than those for other violent behaviors. IPV generally takes place within the context of relationships (e.g., marriage, cohabitating, and dating relationships) and is therefore, often constrained by social norms dictating privacy and the sanctity of family and intimate relationships. This study will examine the role of alcohol outlet density on individual level IPV perpetration and victimization, using data obtained from 9,749 respondents who participated in Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). We will use structural equation modeling techniques to 1) determine whether and to what extent alcohol outlet density is independently associated with intimate partner violence perpetration and victimization and whether the proposed relationship between alcohol outlet density and IPV is mediated by alcohol consumption patterns; 2) assess the extent to which the associations between IPV and alcohol outlet density is moderated by biological sex; and 3) assess whether the type of alcohol outlet (i.e. on-premise or off-premise) is differentially related to IPV perpetration and victimization. The proposed study is significant because it is the first to: a) examine how characteristics of the alcohol environment, namely alcohol outlets, affect IPV victimization and perpetration among a nationally representative sample of young adults, and b) examine how different types of alcohol outlets (on-versus off-premise) may differentially affect IPV. Additionally, the study further advances the field by testing a conceptual model that includes potential mediators and moderators of the association between alcohol outlet density and IPV. Results will inform land use and public health policy and public health practice as well as future ecological studies of IPV. ? ? ? ?
| Iritani, Bonita J; Waller, Martha W; Halpern, Carolyn Tucker et al. (2013) Alcohol Outlet Density and Young Women's Perpetration of Violence Toward Male Intimate Partners. J Fam Violence 28:459-470 |
| Waller, Martha W; Iritani, Bonita J; Christ, Sharon L et al. (2013) Perpetration of intimate partner violence by young adult males: the association with alcohol outlet density and drinking behavior. Health Place 21:10-9 |
| Waller, Martha W; Iritani, Bonita J; Flewelling, Robert L et al. (2012) Violence victimization of young men in heterosexual relationships: does alcohol outlet density influence outcomes? Violence Vict 27:527-47 |
| Waller, Martha W; Iritani, Bonita J; Christ, Sharon L et al. (2012) Relationships among alcohol outlet density, alcohol use, and intimate partner violence victimization among young women in the United States. J Interpers Violence 27:2062-86 |
