Patterns of intimate partner violence among drug using women

Abstract

Following from growing concern with the role of violence in intimate relationships, this paper examines the relationship between partner violence dynamics and illicit drug use among women in Hartford, CT. Based on an interview sample of 497 street-recruited, not-in-treatment, drug-involved women, the paper compares drug use and health risk among women in four types of relationships: I) those without self-reported violence; 2) those in which there is violence targeted at a female partner; 3) those in which the violence is perpetrated by the female partner; and 4) those in which there is bi-directional or mutual violence. Findings suggest that drug treatment programs that serve women should therapeutically address the issue of intimate partner violence.