The temporal co-occurrence and functional relationships among negative affect, alcohol consumption, and intimate partner violence

Research suggests that both negative affect and alcohol use are related to the risk of intimate partner violence (IPV). Forty-three college-age females who reported a recent history of IPV victimization were recruited to submit six weeks of on-line daily reports pertaining to their own levels of affect, their perception of their partner’s affect, their partner’s alcohol consumption habits, and their own IPV victimization. Results indicated that negative affect, as experienced by both the female participant and her male partner, significantly predicted the daily risk of female IPV victimization. Dispositional levels of female negative affect also meaningfully predicted IPV risk. Male alcohol consumption failed to predict IPV perpetration. Results are discussed in terms of prevailing models of alcohol use, negative affect, and IPV