RESEARCH STARTER

Domestic violence and addiction

Domestic violence and addiction are intertwined issues that often coexist within households, significantly impacting individuals and families. Domestic violence is prevalent in the United States, with significant numbers of both women and men reporting experiences of physical violence from intimate partners. Research indicates that the presence of substance addiction in a household is a contributing factor to higher rates of domestic violence. Although experts agree that addiction and domestic violence are correlated, they emphasize that there is no direct causal relationship; rather, both issues may arise from underlying behavioral patterns.

Individuals struggling with addiction often exhibit a loss of control, which can manifest in violent behaviors, while abusers similarly struggle with control over their emotions. Furthermore, both addicts and abusers tend to continue harmful behaviors despite recognizing their negative consequences, and both may develop a preoccupation with their respective issues. Effective treatment requires addressing both addiction and violent tendencies simultaneously, yet many domestic violence programs lack the resources to integrate substance abuse treatment. The cycle of abuse can perpetuate itself, with children exposed to violence more likely to develop addictions and potentially become abusers in the future. Understanding the relationship between domestic violence and addiction is essential for developing effective prevention and treatment strategies.

Full Article

DEFINITION: Domestic violence occurs when a person in an intimate relationship physically, sexually, mentally, emotionally, psychologically, or verbally assaults their partner. Family violence occurs when most members of the same household—spouses, children, or older adults—are abused. Women are more likely than men to be abused. Research has shown that the presence of alcohol or drug addictions in the home increases the likelihood of domestic or family violence.

Domestic Violence in the United States

Domestic violence is one of the most underreported and most common crimes in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), over 40 percent of women and 25 percent of men in the United States reported experiencing physical violence from an intimate partner.

When a person struggling with an addiction to drugs or alcohol is present in the household, many of these numbers increase.

According to the American Addiction Centers, 75 percent of people who enter treatment for a substance use disorder admit to engaging in violent crime. In 2023, Connections for Abused Women and Their Children reported that 40 to 60 percent of reported domestic abuse situations involved drug or alcohol use. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has reported that 61 percent of domestic violence offenders are addicted to drugs or alcohol.

Regardless of whether an addiction coexists with violence in a household, women are typically abused thirty-five times or more before they make a formal complaint to the police. In addition, 47 percent of men—those with and without a substance abuse problem—who beat their wives do so three times or more each year.

As time passes, violence is likely to escalate in a home where a family member is dealing with an addiction to drugs or alcohol. In extreme cases, this leads to the murder of a spouse. The DOJ estimates that one-half or more of persons accused of killing their spouses admit that they were drunk or high at the time of the murder.

Women are not the only survivors of domestic violence; children are victimized, too. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) reported that children living in a home with a person with a substance use disorder (SUD) are more likely to experience physical, mental, or emotional abuse than those in a household where substance abuse is not present. More than 80 percent of child abuse cases involve an abuser who was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the abuse.

Domestic Violence and Addiction

Domestic violence and addiction do not have a causal relationship; throughout the years, experts have established that these problems are closely related, but these same experts have not and cannot prove that domestic or family violence is a direct result of a drug or alcohol addiction. It is true, however, that domestic violence is more likely to occur in homes in which a member of the family has become dependent on a particular substance.

Experts cannot call the relationship between domestic violence and addiction causal because it is unclear which factor is the cause and which is the effect. Questions such as the following remain: Did the abuser commit an act of violence because they were drunk? Or did the abuser begin drinking because they felt guilty for acting violently?

Even though experts have tried to inform the public that evidence of a causal relationship between addiction and domestic violence does not exist, the general public continues to view this relationship as such. Many people do not consider that violence is present in homes where addictions are not. They take no issue with blaming the violence on alcohol and drug abuse; they view abusers as weak and controlled by their substance or drug of choice. According to the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, this view has facilitated a “learned disinhibition.” Essentially, society has provided abusers with an excuse for their violence. This view also provides abusers with expectations that they will become violent if they drink or get high.

Although society may continue to view this relationship as causal, experts remain unconvinced. Researchers have discovered, however, that cases of domestic violence and addiction do appear to be connected through behavioral parallels. The relationship between an individual with a SUD and their drug of choice is similar to the relationship between an abuser and their violent tendencies in the following ways:

  • In both substance abuse and domestic violence, the user/abuser experiences a loss of control. The abuser loses control of their emotions and anger, while the person loses control of their drinking or drug use.
  • Both the person with the problem and the abuser continue their behaviors despite recognizing the negative consequences of their actions. The person with the SUD and the abuser feel remorse or guilt regarding their actions, and abusers are aware that their victims may have experienced emotional, sexual, or physical damage or discomfort because of their behaviors.
  • The person with the SUD and the abuser develop a preoccupation or obsession with their behaviors. A person with SUD becomes obsessed with being drunk or high, while abusers become obsessed with the idea of controlling their victims, especially in circumstances where the abuse is sexual. This preoccupation often erases all guilt or remorse that the person with the SUD and the abuser may feel about their behaviors.
  • Both the person with the SUD and the abuser become tolerant. The person with the SUD requires higher doses of their substance of choice to reach a mental state in which they are content. The abuser becomes increasingly more violent; the abuse may become more frequent, more intense, or more diverse in nature. The victim, too, becomes more tolerant of and desensitized to the abuse.

Because of these and a number of other similarities between domestic violence and addiction, it is easy for both of these conditions to present themselves in a single household. In many cases, the person with the addiction is also the abuser; however, the person with the addiction can also become the victim. Sober members of the household who are unhappy with the person with SUD's behavior are also capable of losing control. This may lead to abuse of the person with the SUD.

Treating Coexisting Conditions

When treating a person addicted to drugs or alcohol who is also a domestic violence offender, it is important that both the violent tendencies and the addiction receive attention. In these cases, drug and alcohol counselors, physicians, and domestic violence counselors should work together to determine the proper approach to treatment.

Physicians may prescribe medications to help treat the addiction and eliminate any rage or depression. Therapists and other treatment professionals may recommend one-on-one counseling or group therapy. They may even require their patients to be active in multiple groups, such as a domestic violence group and an addiction group, in addition to taking medication and speaking with a therapist.

Professionals, regardless of the course of treatment chosen, should ensure that both the violence and the addiction are being treated. Because medical professionals do not view addiction as the cause of family violence or vice versa, they should be able to separate each factor and assign specific treatments to each. Many experts agree that once the addiction is under control, the people who are abused can be part of the treatment process. The abused person might attend therapy sessions with the patient and is often expected to support the patient as best as they can.

Providing patients with both domestic violence and substance abuse counseling in a single setting is the ideal way to treat these coexisting conditions; however, the number of patients who receive both of these services in one location is quite low across the United States. The DOJ reported that 80 percent of domestic violence programs do not offer services to help their patients deal with substance abuse, though 92 percent of the program directors surveyed wish the programs did. These numbers are low because of a lack of financial resources and the absence of staff members who know how to counsel both family violence and addictions.

The Future?

Research has found that a large percentage of abusive men admitted to seeing their fathers abuse their mothers when they were children. Many of these men were abused by their fathers, too. Both witnesses and survivors of family violence are more likely to form a dependency on drugs and alcohol than those who did not grow up in violent homes. This increases the likelihood that they will then abuse their own family members. Medical care for children who have endured abuse or been exposed to an abusive relationship can include psychotherapy, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), or child-parent psychotherapy. Treatment for children exposed to abuse can help them to better manage distressing feelings and trauma-filled memories. This early intervention can assist in breaking cycles of abuse.

Children who no longer wish to see their parents abused—in addition to children who wish to escape a household in which they are abused—often run away from home. The NCADV has determined that runaways have a high risk of becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol. This substance abuse, combined with memories of abusive childhoods, may place these persons on destructive paths to violent future homes of their own.


Bibliography

"About Intimate Partner Violence." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 May 2024, www.cdc.gov/intimate-partner-violence/about/index.html. Accessed 3 Dec. 2025.

"Center for Substance Abuse Treatment." Substance Abuse Treatment and Domestic Violence, 15 June 2025, www.samhsa.gov/about/offices-centers/csat. Accessed 3 Dec. 2025.

"Child Abuse." Mayo Clinic, 19 May 2022, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/child-abuse/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20370867. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

Devries, Karen M., et al. "Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Alcohol Consumption in Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." Addiction, vol. 109, no. 3, 2014, pp. 379–91.

"How Are Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence Related?" Connections for Abused Women and Their Children, 28 Feb. 2023, www.cawc.org/news/substance-abuse-and-domestic-violence. Accessed 3 Dec. 2025.

"Intimate Partner Violence, Sexual Violence, and Stalking among Men." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 May 2024, www.cdc.gov/intimate-partner-violence/about/intimate-partner-violence-sexual-violence-and-stalking-among-men.html. Accessed 3 Dec. 2025.

Irons, Richard, and Jennifer P. Schneider. “When Is Domestic Violence a Hidden Face of Addiction?” Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, vol. 29, 1997, pp. 337–44.

Kassel, Gabrielle. "How Common Is Domestic Violence?" Healthline, 11 Sept. 2023, www.healthline.com/health/how-common-is-domestic-violence. Accessed 3 Dec. 2025.

Martens, Tamera. "How Drugs & Alcohol Can Fuel Violent Behaviors?" American Addiction Centers, 16 May 2025, americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/addiction-and-violence. Accessed 3 Dec. 2025.

Reed, Susanne. "Addiction and Domestic Violence." Addiction Center, 14 July 2025, www.addictioncenter.com/addiction/domestic-violence. Accessed 3 Dec. 2025.

Riger, Stephanie, et al. "Barriers to Addressing Substance Abuse in Domestic Violence Court." American Journal of Community Psychology, vol. 53, no. 1, 2014, pp. 208–17.

Sanders, Mark. Slipping through the Cracks: Intervention Strategies for Clients with Multiple Addictions and Disorders. HCI, 2011.

Full Article

DEFINITION: Domestic violence occurs when a person in an intimate relationship physically, sexually, mentally, emotionally, psychologically, or verbally assaults their partner. Family violence occurs when most members of the same household—spouses, children, or older adults—are abused. Women are more likely than men to be abused. Research has shown that the presence of alcohol or drug addictions in the home increases the likelihood of domestic or family violence.

Domestic Violence in the United States

Domestic violence is one of the most underreported and most common crimes in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), over 40 percent of women and 25 percent of men in the United States reported experiencing physical violence from an intimate partner.

When a person struggling with an addiction to drugs or alcohol is present in the household, many of these numbers increase.

According to the American Addiction Centers, 75 percent of people who enter treatment for a substance use disorder admit to engaging in violent crime. In 2023, Connections for Abused Women and Their Children reported that 40 to 60 percent of reported domestic abuse situations involved drug or alcohol use. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has reported that 61 percent of domestic violence offenders are addicted to drugs or alcohol.

Regardless of whether an addiction coexists with violence in a household, women are typically abused thirty-five times or more before they make a formal complaint to the police. In addition, 47 percent of men—those with and without a substance abuse problem—who beat their wives do so three times or more each year.

As time passes, violence is likely to escalate in a home where a family member is dealing with an addiction to drugs or alcohol. In extreme cases, this leads to the murder of a spouse. The DOJ estimates that one-half or more of persons accused of killing their spouses admit that they were drunk or high at the time of the murder.

Women are not the only survivors of domestic violence; children are victimized, too. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) reported that children living in a home with a person with a substance use disorder (SUD) are more likely to experience physical, mental, or emotional abuse than those in a household where substance abuse is not present. More than 80 percent of child abuse cases involve an abuser who was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the abuse.

Domestic Violence and Addiction

Domestic violence and addiction do not have a causal relationship; throughout the years, experts have established that these problems are closely related, but these same experts have not and cannot prove that domestic or family violence is a direct result of a drug or alcohol addiction. It is true, however, that domestic violence is more likely to occur in homes in which a member of the family has become dependent on a particular substance.

Experts cannot call the relationship between domestic violence and addiction causal because it is unclear which factor is the cause and which is the effect. Questions such as the following remain: Did the abuser commit an act of violence because they were drunk? Or did the abuser begin drinking because they felt guilty for acting violently?

Even though experts have tried to inform the public that evidence of a causal relationship between addiction and domestic violence does not exist, the general public continues to view this relationship as such. Many people do not consider that violence is present in homes where addictions are not. They take no issue with blaming the violence on alcohol and drug abuse; they view abusers as weak and controlled by their substance or drug of choice. According to the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, this view has facilitated a “learned disinhibition.” Essentially, society has provided abusers with an excuse for their violence. This view also provides abusers with expectations that they will become violent if they drink or get high.

Although society may continue to view this relationship as causal, experts remain unconvinced. Researchers have discovered, however, that cases of domestic violence and addiction do appear to be connected through behavioral parallels. The relationship between an individual with a SUD and their drug of choice is similar to the relationship between an abuser and their violent tendencies in the following ways:

  • In both substance abuse and domestic violence, the user/abuser experiences a loss of control. The abuser loses control of their emotions and anger, while the person loses control of their drinking or drug use.
  • Both the person with the problem and the abuser continue their behaviors despite recognizing the negative consequences of their actions. The person with the SUD and the abuser feel remorse or guilt regarding their actions, and abusers are aware that their victims may have experienced emotional, sexual, or physical damage or discomfort because of their behaviors.
  • The person with the SUD and the abuser develop a preoccupation or obsession with their behaviors. A person with SUD becomes obsessed with being drunk or high, while abusers become obsessed with the idea of controlling their victims, especially in circumstances where the abuse is sexual. This preoccupation often erases all guilt or remorse that the person with the SUD and the abuser may feel about their behaviors.
  • Both the person with the SUD and the abuser become tolerant. The person with the SUD requires higher doses of their substance of choice to reach a mental state in which they are content. The abuser becomes increasingly more violent; the abuse may become more frequent, more intense, or more diverse in nature. The victim, too, becomes more tolerant of and desensitized to the abuse.

Because of these and a number of other similarities between domestic violence and addiction, it is easy for both of these conditions to present themselves in a single household. In many cases, the person with the addiction is also the abuser; however, the person with the addiction can also become the victim. Sober members of the household who are unhappy with the person with SUD's behavior are also capable of losing control. This may lead to abuse of the person with the SUD.

Treating Coexisting Conditions

When treating a person addicted to drugs or alcohol who is also a domestic violence offender, it is important that both the violent tendencies and the addiction receive attention. In these cases, drug and alcohol counselors, physicians, and domestic violence counselors should work together to determine the proper approach to treatment.

Physicians may prescribe medications to help treat the addiction and eliminate any rage or depression. Therapists and other treatment professionals may recommend one-on-one counseling or group therapy. They may even require their patients to be active in multiple groups, such as a domestic violence group and an addiction group, in addition to taking medication and speaking with a therapist.

Professionals, regardless of the course of treatment chosen, should ensure that both the violence and the addiction are being treated. Because medical professionals do not view addiction as the cause of family violence or vice versa, they should be able to separate each factor and assign specific treatments to each. Many experts agree that once the addiction is under control, the people who are abused can be part of the treatment process. The abused person might attend therapy sessions with the patient and is often expected to support the patient as best as they can.

Providing patients with both domestic violence and substance abuse counseling in a single setting is the ideal way to treat these coexisting conditions; however, the number of patients who receive both of these services in one location is quite low across the United States. The DOJ reported that 80 percent of domestic violence programs do not offer services to help their patients deal with substance abuse, though 92 percent of the program directors surveyed wish the programs did. These numbers are low because of a lack of financial resources and the absence of staff members who know how to counsel both family violence and addictions.

The Future?

Research has found that a large percentage of abusive men admitted to seeing their fathers abuse their mothers when they were children. Many of these men were abused by their fathers, too. Both witnesses and survivors of family violence are more likely to form a dependency on drugs and alcohol than those who did not grow up in violent homes. This increases the likelihood that they will then abuse their own family members. Medical care for children who have endured abuse or been exposed to an abusive relationship can include psychotherapy, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), or child-parent psychotherapy. Treatment for children exposed to abuse can help them to better manage distressing feelings and trauma-filled memories. This early intervention can assist in breaking cycles of abuse.

Children who no longer wish to see their parents abused—in addition to children who wish to escape a household in which they are abused—often run away from home. The NCADV has determined that runaways have a high risk of becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol. This substance abuse, combined with memories of abusive childhoods, may place these persons on destructive paths to violent future homes of their own.


Bibliography

"About Intimate Partner Violence." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 May 2024, www.cdc.gov/intimate-partner-violence/about/index.html. Accessed 3 Dec. 2025.

"Center for Substance Abuse Treatment." Substance Abuse Treatment and Domestic Violence, 15 June 2025, www.samhsa.gov/about/offices-centers/csat. Accessed 3 Dec. 2025.

"Child Abuse." Mayo Clinic, 19 May 2022, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/child-abuse/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20370867. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

Devries, Karen M., et al. "Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Alcohol Consumption in Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." Addiction, vol. 109, no. 3, 2014, pp. 379–91.

"How Are Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence Related?" Connections for Abused Women and Their Children, 28 Feb. 2023, www.cawc.org/news/substance-abuse-and-domestic-violence. Accessed 3 Dec. 2025.

"Intimate Partner Violence, Sexual Violence, and Stalking among Men." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 May 2024, www.cdc.gov/intimate-partner-violence/about/intimate-partner-violence-sexual-violence-and-stalking-among-men.html. Accessed 3 Dec. 2025.

Irons, Richard, and Jennifer P. Schneider. “When Is Domestic Violence a Hidden Face of Addiction?” Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, vol. 29, 1997, pp. 337–44.

Kassel, Gabrielle. "How Common Is Domestic Violence?" Healthline, 11 Sept. 2023, www.healthline.com/health/how-common-is-domestic-violence. Accessed 3 Dec. 2025.

Martens, Tamera. "How Drugs & Alcohol Can Fuel Violent Behaviors?" American Addiction Centers, 16 May 2025, americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/addiction-and-violence. Accessed 3 Dec. 2025.

Reed, Susanne. "Addiction and Domestic Violence." Addiction Center, 14 July 2025, www.addictioncenter.com/addiction/domestic-violence. Accessed 3 Dec. 2025.

Riger, Stephanie, et al. "Barriers to Addressing Substance Abuse in Domestic Violence Court." American Journal of Community Psychology, vol. 53, no. 1, 2014, pp. 208–17.

Sanders, Mark. Slipping through the Cracks: Intervention Strategies for Clients with Multiple Addictions and Disorders. HCI, 2011.

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