title: The role of alcohol as men desist from physical intimate partner violence.
abstract: Although researchers have examined the relationship between alcohol and perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV), little research has examined the role of alcohol within the process of desistance from IPV, which was the aim of this study.
  
  
  
  A mixed-methods approach was taken as both psychometric test and interview data were analysed. Scores on the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory III alcohol dependence subscale of 37 men deemed to have desisted from IPV, 50 deemed to be persisting with IPV and 49 non-violent controls were compared. In addition, data about alcohol use from interviews with 13 desisters, 9 persisters, 9 IPV intervention facilitators and 7 female survivors were analysed using thematic analysis to understand the role of alcohol in IPV desistance and persistence.
  
  
  
  No differences were found between the groups' self-reported alcohol dependence based on their Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory III scores. However, analysis of the interview data revealed that compared with persisters, desisters reported having changed their attitudes towards alcohol and their consumption of it in order to facilitate their cessation of violence.
  
  
  
  Static measures of alcohol dependence need to be used with caution if looking to identify progress with desistance from IPV. For individuals for whom alcohol played a role in their IPV, changing attitudes and their use of alcohol were described as being important in the process of desistance. Self-reported attitudes and alcohol use could therefore be used to identify men who are making progress in the process of desistance from IPV. [Walker K. The role of alcohol as men desist from physical intimate partner violence. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;36:134-142].
authors.affiliation: Faculty Research Centre in Psychology, Behaviour and Achievement, Coventry University, Coventry, UK.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9796-2200
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Walker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D000066511:Intimate Partner Violence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: alcohol dependence; desistance narrative; intimate partner violence