Accounting for intimate partner violence perpetration. A cross‐cultural comparison of English and Brazilian male substance users' explanations

• Published in: Drug and alcohol review Vol. 36; no. 1; pp. 64 - 71
• Main Authors: Radcliffe, Polly, d'Oliveira, Ana Flávia Pires Lucas, Lea, Susan, Santos Figueiredo, Wagner, Gilchrist, Gail
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australia Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.01.2017; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: account; Accounts; Adult; Betrayal; Brazil; Cross cultural studies; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Disputes; Domestic violence; Drug Users - psychology; England; Female; Female roles; gender; Gender Identity; Hegemony; Humans; Interviews as Topic; Intimate partner violence; Intimate Partner Violence - psychology; Intoxication; Loss of control; Male; Males; Meaning; Medical treatment; Men; Middle Aged; Narratives; Original Paper; Original Papers; perpetration; Perpetrators; Questionnaires; Risk Factors; Substance abuse; Substance abuse treatment; substance use; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Substance-Related Disorders - rehabilitation; Surveys and Questionnaires; United Kingdom > UK; England; Brazil; substance use; intimate partner violence; perpetration; gender; account
• ISSN: 0959-5236; 1465-3362
• DOI: 10.1111/dar.12450

Introduction and Aims This paper describes how substance use features in the accounts of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators in treatment in England and Brazil. The aim of the research was to better understand cross cultural constructions of IPV perpetration amongst men in treatment for substance use. Design and Methods Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 40 men in community substance use treatment in Sao Paolo, Brazil and London and the South East of England who had reported IPV perpetration in a questionnaire survey. A thematic, narrative analysis was carried out of men's explanations for IPV perpetration. Findings Three types of narratives were distinguished: (i) disputes, centred on substance use, that escalate to IPV perpetration; (ii) IPV perpetration that is explained by uncharacteristic loss of control, as a result of intoxication; and (iii) IPV perpetration provoked by a perceived betrayal, in which substance use is incidental. In all types of accounts hegemonic principles of male and female roles and behaviour provided a context for and make IPV perpetration explicable. Discussion and Conclusions Substance use and IPV are culturally constructed and contextually defined. Understanding the meaning‐making of substance using IPV perpetrators has implications for the treatment of both substance abuse and IPV. [Radcliffe P, d'Oliveira AFPL, Lea S, dos Santos Figueiredo W, Gilchrist G. Accounting for intimate partner violence perpetration. A cross‐cultural comparison of English and Brazilian male substance users' explanations. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;36:64–71]