Advertisement
AJPH
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

AJPH First Look, published online ahead of print Jul 28, 2005
This Article
Right arrow Extract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
AJPH.2005.069070v1
95/9/1493    most recent
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow purchase articles
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Right arrow Get other permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Brewer, D. D.
Right arrow Articles by Haggerty, K. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Brewer, D. D.
Right arrow Articles by Haggerty, K. P.
Related Collections
Right arrow Injury/Emergency Care/Violence
Right arrow Drugs
September 2005, Vol 95, No. 9 | American Journal of Public Health 1493
© 2005 American Public Health Association
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2005.069070

LETTER

PAST AND FUTURE RESEARCH ON THE CRACK COCAINE–DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LINK

Devon D. Brewer, PhD, Charles B. Fleming, MA and Kevin P. Haggerty, MSW

Devon D. Brewer is with Interdisciplinary Scientific Research, Seattle, Wash. Charles B. Fleming and Kevin P. Haggerty are with the Social Development Research Group, University of Washington, Seattle.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Devon D. Brewer, Interdisciplinary Scientific Research, PO Box 15110, Seattle, WA 98115 (e-mail: dbrewr{at}interscientific.net).

In the March issue of the Journal, El-Bassel et al. state that their study "is the first longitudinal investigation of the causal relationship between frequent drug use and IPV [intimate partner violence] among a random sample of women attending MMTPs [methadone maintenance treatment programs]."1(p468) El-Bassel and colleagues’ report is an important contribution to the literature; however, this statement gives the incorrect impression that the relationship between drug use and IPV had not previously been studied longitudinally.

In our sample of opiate-dependent women in Seattle methadone treatment programs, crack use and use of other types of cocaine were the only meaningful longitudinal drug use predictors of IPV victimization.2 Alcohol, heroin, and marijuana use were unrelated to IPV victimization. In contrast to El-Bassel et al., we used continuous measures of drug use and controlled for IPV victimization at time 1 in analyses of IPV victimization at time 2.

Given El-Bassel et al.’s replication of this longitudinal association, useful next steps include examining the temporal relationship between specific incidents of crack use and IPV and gathering perpetrators’ perceptions of the factors precipitating their violence.3 Such research would permit a more direct evaluation of the mechanisms underlying this relationship.

References

1. El-Bassel N, Gilbert L, Wu E, Go H, Hill J. Relationship between drug abuse and intimate partner violence: A longitudinal study among women receiving methadone. Am J Public Health. 2005;95;465–470.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

2. Brewer DD, Fleming CB, Haggerty KP, Catalano RF. Drug use predictors of partner violence in opiate-dependent women. Violence Vict. 1998;13:107–115.[Medline]

3. Daly M, Wilson M. Homicide. New York, NY: Aldine de Gruyter; 1988.





This Article
Right arrow Extract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
AJPH.2005.069070v1
95/9/1493    most recent
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow purchase articles
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Right arrow Get other permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Brewer, D. D.
Right arrow Articles by Haggerty, K. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Brewer, D. D.
Right arrow Articles by Haggerty, K. P.
Related Collections
Right arrow Injury/Emergency Care/Violence
Right arrow Drugs

HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2005 by the American Public Health Association