Indian Journal of Private Psychiatry

Register      Login

SEARCH WITHIN CONTENT

FIND ARTICLE

Volume / Issue

Online First

Archive
Volume  19 (2025)
Volume  18 (2024)
Volume  17 (2023)
Volume  16 (2022)
Volume  15 (2021)
Volume  14 (2020)
Volume  13 (2019)
Volume  12 (2018)
Volume  11 (2017)
Related articles

VOLUME 19 , ISSUE 1 ( January-June, 2025 ) > List of Articles

RESEARCH ARTICLE

An Observational Study on Domestic Violence, Marital Satisfaction, and Psychiatric Morbidities in Wives of Alcohol Use Disorder Males

Roshani K Patel, Pradip N Dalsaniya, Punit Patel, Mukesh K Patel

Keywords : Domestic violence, Marital satisfaction, Psychiatric morbidity, Spouses, Substance dependence

Citation Information : Patel RK, Dalsaniya PN, Patel P, Patel MK. An Observational Study on Domestic Violence, Marital Satisfaction, and Psychiatric Morbidities in Wives of Alcohol Use Disorder Males. Ind J Priv Psychiatry 2025; 19 (1):6-10.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10067-0186

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 19-02-2025

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2025; The Author(s).


Abstract

Background: Alcohol is a commonly consumed substance that induces intoxication and can lead to dependence. Alcoholism is often referred to as a family disease due to its harmful impact on the lives of family members and its maximum impact is felt on spouses. Understanding the pivotal role spouses plays in alcohol treatment, there is thus a need to study domestic violence, marital satisfaction, and psychiatric morbidity in spouses of alcohol-dependent patients to understand and address such issues. Aims: This study aimed to assess domestic violence, marital satisfaction, and psychiatric morbidity in spouses of men with alcohol dependence syndrome and explore the association. Materials and methods: A total of 105 spouses of men with alcohol dependence syndrome were evaluated. Severity of alcohol dependence was assessed using severity of alcohol dependence questionnaire (SADQ), marital satisfaction in spouses was assessed using the MAT, domestic violence was assessed using domestic violence questionnaire, mini-international neuropsychiatric interview (MINI) was used to screen for the possible presence of psychiatric morbidity among spouses. Depression and anxiety severity was assessed using Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A). Results: Out of 105 cases, we found that the mean age of spouse was 22.29. Majority of patients had severe alcohol dependence (46.7%) based on SADQ score. Severe level of domestic violence was present in (28.6%) of spouses. Most of the spouses (50.5%) had a lower level of marital satisfaction and (82.86%) spouses had a psychiatric disorder. Primarily depression and anxiety disorder were present. Domestic violence, marital dissatisfaction, and severity of depression and anxiety in spouses were significantly associated with alcohol dependence. Conclusion: Spouses of alcoholic husbands suffer from high levels of domestic violence, with marital satisfaction being low and psychiatric morbidity in spouses of alcohol-dependent men are high. Addressing these issues will be beneficial as spouses are known to play an important role in the treatment of alcohol dependence syndrome.

PDF Share
  1. Steele CM, Southwick L. Alcohol and social behavior I: The psychology of drunken excess. J Pers Soc Psychol 1985;48(1):18–34. DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.48.1.18.
  2. World Health Organization. Global Status Report On Alcohol And Health 2018. Management of Substance Abuse. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2018. [online]. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241565639. [Accessed on: 04/07/2024].
  3. Singh TK, Raju MV. Alcohol dependents: Quality of life and marital satisfaction with their spouses. Indian J Health Wellbeing 2012;3(1):75–79. Available from: https://www.i-scholar.in/index.php/ijhw/article/view/49379.
  4. Moss HB. The impact of alcohol on society: A brief overview. Soc Work Public Health 2013;28(3–4):175–177. DOI: 10.1080/19371918.2013.758987.
  5. Stanley S. Co-dependency: Personality correlates in spouses of alcoholics. Indian J Social Work 2004;65(2):213–226. Available from: https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/publications/co-dependency-personality-correlates-in-spouses-of-alcoholics.
  6. Wiseman J. The other half: Wives of alcoholics and their social-psychological situation. New York, USA: Routledge; 2018. DOI: 10.4324/9781351328845.
  7. Nace EP, Dephoure M, Goldberg M, et al. Treatment priorities in a family oriented alcoholism program. J Marital Family Therapy 1982;8(1):143–150. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-0606.1982.tb01432.x.
  8. Zweben A. Problem drinking and marital adjustment. J Stud Alcohol 1986;47(2):167–172. DOI: 10.15288/jsa.1986.47.167.
  9. Rodriguez LM, Neighbors C, Knee CR. Problematic alcohol use and marital distress: An interdependence theory perspective. Addict Res Theory 2014;22(4):294–312. DOI: 10.3109/16066359.2013. 841890.
  10. Ritchie SJ, Cox SR, Shen X, et al. Sex differences in the adult human brain: Evidence from 5216 UK biobank participants. Cereb Cortex 2018;28(8):2959–2975. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhy109.
  11. Kishor S, Gupta K. Women's empowerment in India and its states: Evidence from the NFHS. Econ Polit Wkly 2004;39(7):694–712. DOI: 10.2307/4414645.
  12. Peralta RL, Steele JL, Nofziger S, et al. The impact of gender on binge drinking behavior among US college students attending a Midwestern university: An analysis of two gender measures. Fem Criminol 2010;5(4):355–379. DOI: 10.1177/1557085110386363.
  13. Levant RF, Wimer DJ. Masculinity constructs as protective buffers and risk factors for men's health. Am J Mens Health 2014;8(2):110–120. DOI: 10.1177/1557988313494408.
  14. Jeyaseelan L, Kumar S, Neelakantan N, et al. Physical spousal violence against women in India: Some risk factors. J Biosoc Sci 2007;39(5):657–670. DOI: 10.1017/S0021932007001836.
  15. Wilson TD, Reinhard DA, Westgate EC, et al. Just think: The challenges of the disengaged mind. Science 2014;345(6192):75–77. DOI: 10.1126/science.1250830.
  16. Dandu A, Bharathi S, Dudala SR. Psychiatric morbidity in spouses of patients with alcohol-related disorders. J Family Med Prim Care 2017;6(2):305–310. DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_331_16.
  17. Orford J, Natera G, Velleman R, et al. Ways of coping and the health of relatives facing drug and alcohol problems in Mexico and England. Addiction 2001;96(5):761–774. DOI: 10.1046/j.1360-0443.2001.96576111.x.
  18. Johnson SL, Jacob T. Psychosocial functioning in children of alcoholic fathers. Psychol Addict Behav 1995;9(2):101–113. DOI: 10.1037/0893-164X.9.2.101.
  19. McCrady BS, Stout R, Noel N, et al. Effectiveness of three types of spouse-involved behavioral alcoholism treatment. Br J Addict 1991;86(11):1415–1124. DOI: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1991.tb01727.x.
  20. Regier DA, Kuhl EA, Kupfer DJ. The DSM-5: Classification and criteria changes. World Psychiatry 2013;12(2):92–98. DOI: 10.1002/wps.20050.
  21. Sheehan DV, Lecrubier Y, Sheehan KH, et al. The Mini-international neuropsychiatric interview (M.I.N.I.): The development and validation of a structured diagnostic psychiatric interview for DSM-5 and ICD-10. J Clin Psychiatry 1998;59(Suppl 20):22–33. PMID: 9881538.
  22. Stockwell TI, Sitharthan T, McGrath DA, et al. The measurement of alcohol dependence and impaired control in community samples. Addiction 1994;89(2):167–184. DOI: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1994.tb00875.x.
  23. Kumar S, Jeyaseelan L, Suresh S, et al. Domestic violence and its mental health correlates in Indian women. Br J Psychiatry 2005;187(1):62–67. DOI: 10.1192/bjp.187.1.62.
  24. Locke HJ, Wallace KM. Short marital-adjustment and prediction tests: Their reliability and validity. Marriage Family Living 1959;21(3):251255. DOI: 10.2307/348022.
  25. Hamilton MA. The assessment of anxiety states by rating. Br J Med Psychol 1959;32(1):50–55. DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8341.1959.tb00467.x.
  26. Baer L, Blais MA. Handbook of clinical rating scales and assessment in psychiatry and mental health. New York: Humana Press; 2010. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-59745-387-5.
  27. Moss HB, Chen CM, Yi HY. Subtypes of alcohol dependence in a nationally representative sample. Drug Alcohol Depend 2007;91(2–3):149–158. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2007.05.016.
  28. Leonard KE, Quigley BM. Thirty years of research show alcohol to be a cause of intimate partner violence: Future research needs to identify who to treat and how to treat them. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;36(1):7–9. DOI: 10.1111/dar.12434.
  29. Cranford JA. DSM-IV alcohol dependence and marital dissolution: Evidence from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 2014;75(3):520–529. DOI: 10.15288/jsad.2014.75.520.
  30. Merikangas KR, Mehta RL, Molnar BE, et al. Comorbidity of substance use disorders with mood and anxiety disorders: Results of the International Consortium in Psychiatric Epidemiology. Addict Behav 1998;23(6):893–907. DOI: 10.1016/s0306-4603(98)00076-8.
PDF Share
PDF Share

© Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) LTD.