“I never knew which way he would swing…:” Exploring the Roles of Substances in the Lives of System-Involved Intimate Partner Violence Survivors

This article reports findings of a mixed-methods study exploring the role that substances play in the lives of service-mandated female survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). The study sample consists of 22 women who had completed a court- and/or child protective services (CPS)-mandated IPV parenting program. Quantitative results reveal moderate levels of current substance use and higher levels of past substance use. Qualitative analyses yield three key areas of participants’ perspectives of substances and violence: (a) role of participants’ substance use, including coping and partner influence; (b) role of partner’s substance use, including severity and substance preferences; and (c) relationship between substance use and IPV, including effects on safety and IPV frequency and severity. We find victimization is a function of a partner’s—rather than a victim’s—substance use. Future programming should focus on the overlapping risk factors between substance use and IPV.