Intimate Partner Violence Among Hispanic Men and Women: The Role of Drinking, Neighborhood Disorder, and Acculturation-Related Factors

Using secondary data analysis, this study assessed the contribution of drinking, neighborhood disorder, and acculturation-related factors to past-year intimate partner violence (IPV) risk among a national sample of married or cohabiting Hispanic men (n = 1,148) and women (n = 1,399) who participated in the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Drinking measures were past-year alcohol abuse, past-month binge drinking, and number of past-year drinking days. Neighborhood disorder was measured by perceived level of neighborhood problems. Acculturation-related factors were nativity and survey interview language preference (Spanish vs. English). Similar proportions of men and women reported IPV perpetration (6.1% vs. 6.5%) and IPV victimization (8.8% vs. 7.8%). Logistic regression results indicated that for men, neighborhood disorder was associated with IPV perpetration (odds ratio [OR] = 1.55) and victimization (OR = 1.36). For women, neighborhood disorder (OR = 1.34) and their alcohol abuse (OR = 10.26) were associated with IPV victimization, but not IPV perpetration. Acculturation-related factors were not associated with IPV perpetration or victimization for men or women. The findings suggest that IPV prevention efforts should address deleterious neighborhood conditions in addition to individual-level factors that place couples at risk for IPV.