The Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse (Research Paper Sample)

The Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse
Gender-based violence involves physical, psychological, economic, and sexual harm that is majorly inflicted in private and public. Specifically, gender-based violence happens in domestic violence and substance abuse which ends up causing immense psychological issues to the women, affecting their ability to execute their daily tasks because of the physical harm, social and mental deprivation. Notably, domestic violence and substance abuse are closely interconnected. Many studies have established that domestic violence and the increased use of substance abuse as the main provoke the intimate partner violence, which is directed towards women who end up as the main culprits. Substance abuse births domestic violence, which happens in sexual coercion, financial abuse, and physical and controlling behavior, instigating psychological concerns affecting women more than their male counterparts (Gilchrist et al., 2019). One in every three women faces the domestic violence occasioned by substance abuse, with another study showing that men cause four in every ten femicides. In all these incidences, the women than their male counterparts are more likely to experience serious injuries with other scenarios leading to death. The psychological trauma which happens among the women is because of the adverse effects they encounter through domestic violence and substance abuse which all facilitate physical, mental, and reproductive health, decreasing their quality of health.
Many studies have established that the main causes of the psychological relationship between domestic violence and substance abuse are caused by immense risk factors comprising unemployment, childhood abuse, bipolar disorder, personality disorder, relationship conflict, and lack of effective parenting provided by the parents to nurture the children’s behavior as they undergo through their growth and development. The psychological relationship between domestic violence and substance abuse causes mental health problems. It causes generalized anxiety disorder, suicide, depression, dysthymia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and phobias among women. The psychological and emotional abuse arising from domestic violence and substance abuse comprise low self-esteem, PTSD, and depression which cause health outcomes among the women. Immense literature shows that over 50% of the women who have suffered from domestic violence had mental health problems, with 75% of the women who suffered more severe intimate partner violence recording large numbers of mental health problems. Notably, this is a problem affecting the minority communities more, with a specific example of African American women who experienced the prevalence rates of exposure ranging between 20% to 57% (Mason & O’Rinn, 2014). Data obtained from the substance abuse and treatment program indicated that 65% of the women who had recorded some forms of violence experienced the same during their adult time. Arguably, domestic violence is associated with higher rates of substance abuse, which develops the behavior and the attitude among the individuals leading to the worst health outcome on the victims.
Social learning theory is the risky factor causing the psychological relationship between domestic violence and substance abuse. The male individual has a history of being abused as children or sometimes witnessing marital violence at home. This includes rejection from the father due to the use of alcohol, leading to joining the bad company in the community and neighborhood, which becomes the source of learning the bad morals. Children raised from an alcoholic family usually lack the nurturing which should mold them to become more responsible people in the future. The family relationship level determines the cross-cultural control of males in terms of wealth and decision-making within the marital and family conflict influence the development of gender-based violence, which again becomes the source of substance abuse affecting the young people. To some extent, at the community level, isolation of women and lack of social support from the male counterpart legitimize the violence associated with men making the women culprits of the violence. However, the societal level reveals that violence against women is mostly rampant where gender roles can be enforced and defined by the concept of masculinity which can be linked by male dominance and toughness. Therefore, the cultural norms are associated with abuse, which entails physical punishment of children and women, perception of male gender on women, and acceptance of violence to settle interpersonal disputes.
On the other hand, violence against women sometimes results from the men's experience of external factors such as poverty, rapid economic or political change, and interpersonal conflicts in society. It is evidenced that poverty can sometimes be a secondary cause of violence because it may accelerate the existing violence. This indicates that poverty leads to negative decision-making choices, which are determined by uncontrollable reaction factors. Similarly, rapid economic or social and conflicts mainly act as impacts but not causes of gender-based violence. The rates of violence against women are determined by the social instability and the new arrangements associated with abuse (Klugman, 2017). The unemployment situation to men affects the entry of women into the workforce, especially during economic restructuring, which makes the women to entirely depend on men becoming the source of crime at the community.