Trauma Exposure and Alcohol Use in Battered Women

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between battering severity and alcohol use among battered women. The study used multiple regression analyses to examine predictive relationships between three forms of trauma exposure—childhood physical and sexual abuse and domestic violence—and alcohol use. This study is among the first to investigate these relationships, using a sample of 78 battered women drawn from both shelter and nonresidential community agencies. Both battering severity and childhood sexual abuse were positively correlated with alcohol use. Multiple regression analysis showed that childhood sexual abuse was the stronger predictor when collinearity was controlled.