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Relationships Among Alcohol Use, Hyperarousal, and Marital Abuse and Violence in Vietnam Veterans

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Journal of Traumatic Stress

Abstract

Alcohol use (frequency and quantity) and the hyperarousal feature of PTSD were examined in relation to male-perpetrated marital abuse and violence using data from 376 couples who participated in the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study. Veteran's self-reported hyperarousal was significantly associated with partner's report of physical violence and psychological abuse toward her. Differential relationships were found between veteran's self-reported drinking frequency and drinking quantity and the outcomes; of the two components, only the average quantity consumed per occasion was independently related to husband-to-wife violence. Moreover, a complex interaction emerged between hyperarousal and the two dimensions of alcohol consumption in predicting violence, with the relationship between hyperarousal and violence varying as a function of both drinking frequency and drinking quantity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Women's Health Sciences Division, National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts

    Vincent W. Savarese, Michael K. Suvak & Lynda A. King

  2. Behavioral Science Division, National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts

    Vincent W. Savarese, Michael K. Suvak & Daniel W. King

  3. Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts

    Lynda A. King & Daniel W. King

Authors
  1. Vincent W. Savarese
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  2. Michael K. Suvak
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  3. Lynda A. King
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Savarese, V.W., Suvak, M.K., King, L.A. et al. Relationships Among Alcohol Use, Hyperarousal, and Marital Abuse and Violence in Vietnam Veterans. J Trauma Stress 14, 717–732 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013038021175

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