Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse Among the Arrestee Population in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1999-2001 (ICPSR 3585)

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Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection

Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes

Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose

The problem underlying this research effort is situated within the larger context of aggressive behavior in general and, more specifically, family violence. While family violence takes on many forms (e.g., spousal abuse, child abuse, sibling brawls, and elderly abuse), this study sought to address domestic violence between intimate partners within an arrestee population in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, metropolitan area. Prior to this data collection, there were no data available in New Mexico that systematically documented the concurrence of substance abuse and domestic violence, even though some data sources indicated the prevalence of domestic violence in Albuquerque. The focus of this study was to examine levels of aggressive behavior during incidents of domestic violence in relation to self-reported drug and alcohol use among an arrestee population from Bernalillo County in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The research questions motivating this project were: (1) Are acts of domestic violence committed while the offender is taking illicit psychoactive substances, as ascertained by self-reports? (2) For those individuals with domestic violence charges, do urinalyses conducted within 48 hours of an individual's arrest indicate the recent use of a psychoactive substance? (3) Which substances are most prevalently associated with incidents of domestic violence? (4) Is there a difference in levels of aggressive behavior that is dependent on the individual? (5) Does the severity of domestic violence increase with the presence of psychoactive substances? (6) What differences (if any) exist between batterers who take psychoactive substances and batterers who do not?

Study Design View help for Study Design

The data for this research were collected in conjunction with the National Institute of Justice's Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) programs. At the time of this study's first release, the ADAM program was operational in approximately 35 cities nationwide, providing national and local profiles of drug use within arrestee populations and the monitoring of drug use patterns. An extension and refinement of the previous Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) program (see DRUG USE FORECASTING IN 24 CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES, 1987-1997 [ICPSR 9477]), the ADAM program (see ARRESTEE DRUG ABUSE MONITORING (ADAM) PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES, 1999 [ICPSR 2994)], 2000 [ICPSR 3270], and 2001 [ICPSR 3688]) is the United States government's primary source of information on drug use among arrestees, and is one of the primary research tools on drug use, crime, and other social indicators. Quarterly interviews with arrestees selected using probability-based (for males) and convenience sampling (for females) were conducted in jails and detention facilities at each ADAM site. Urine samples were also collected and tested for a core panel of drugs that included cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and opiates. Because the drug screen could not detect drugs beyond 72 hours after use, only arrestees who had been incarcerated 48 hours or less were eligible for participation. The ADAM interview provided demographic and descriptive data including race, age, marital status, source of income, screens for substance abuse and dependency, treatment history, arrest and incarceration experiences, and participation in local drug markets. At the conclusion of the ADAM interview, respondents were asked to provide a urine specimen that was used to corroborate self-reports of recent drug use. After the ADAM interview and urine collection process were completed, the respondent was presented with the option of participating in the domestic violence study. Permission to be interviewed was obtained from the arrestee. Research staff defined a partner as a person with whom the respondent had an intimate, romantic, or sexual relationship, whether they lived together or not. They included both same-sex and opposite sex intimate partners in the definition and used the terms intimate partner violence and domestic violence interchangeably as defined in New Mexico statutes. Originally, researchers wanted to interview only those offenders brought in on domestic violence charges. However, the ADAM protocol would not accommodate this arrangement, and the collection of domestic violence data was predicated on the ADAM sampling strategy. Since all Bernalillo County arrestees were included in the sample frame, interviews could not be limited to domestic violence offenders. Therefore, the research staff adapted their domestic violence instrument to focus the respondent's attention on the most recent incident of domestic violence. The design of the domestic violence instrument mandated that all respondents were asked questions influenced by and based, in part, on the Conflict Tactic Scale. Several methodological and logistical issues affected the research efforts. Difficulties resulted from changes in the ADAM instrument (with a new instrument implemented in 2000), shifts in national sample collection protocol, jail facility staffing shortages, and the merging of data sources. Users are strongly encouraged to obtain the final report for this study, which extensively details each of these issues. The research staff want users to be aware that self-reports of race/ethnicity reflect an over- representation of minorities among Albuquerque's arrestee population. Therefore, it is difficult to compare Albuquerque's 2000 United States census figures to ADAM data due to the differing treatment of terms such as "race" and "ethnicity." Standard ADAM procedures required four quarters of data collection throughout the calendar year. Each collection period, conducted once during a three month period, was 14 consecutive days, with each collection day lasting eight hours. The data in this collection are based upon survey results from ADAM data collected during the third and fourth quarters of 1999, the first, second, and third quarters of 2000, and the first quarter of 2001.

Sample View help for Sample

The domestic violence survey addendum was administered to all arrestees from Bernalillo County in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who had completed the ADAM interview and provided a urine specimen and were willing to answer additional questions concerning domestic violence. Please see ICPSR studies, ARRESTEE DRUG ABUSE MONITORING (ADAM) PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES, 1999 [ICPSR 2994], 2000 [ICPSR 3270], and 2001 [ICPSR 3688] for the sampling frame used to collect the ADAM data.

Universe View help for Universe

All persons arrested and booked on local and state charges (i.e., not federal and out-of-county charges) from Bernalillo County in Albuquerque, New Mexico, during 1999-2001.

Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation

Data Source View help for Data Source

Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)

Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables

Demographic variables taken from the ADAM data collection include respondent's age, gender, race, ethnicity, residency, education, employment, and marital status. Other variables include the three most serious arrest charges, heavy alcohol use, use of marijuana, crack/rock cocaine, powder cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and other drugs (ever and previous 12 months), age of first use of the above six drugs and heavy alcohol use, and drug dependency in the previous 12 months. Demographic variables from the domestic violence survey addendum include the sex, age, race, and religious affiliation of the intimate partner. Other variables from the domestic violence survey include whether the respondent slapped, threw objects at, pushed, grabbed, choked, stabbed, shot, or threatened to harm the intimate partner and whether any of these actions were attempted by the intimate partner in response to the respondent. The frequencies of these specific events within a 12-month and 30-day period are included. Respondents also indicated whether they sustained or caused injuries such as a black eye, bloody lip, deep cuts, burns, chipped or knocked out teeth, miscarriages, or irritated or bleeding genitals. Respondents also described the most recent physical injury involving their intimate partner, the reason for the injury, whether alcohol or illegal drugs influenced the incident, and if so, which drugs were involved. Questions regarding the respondents' history of physical or sexual abused were also asked.

Response Rates View help for Response Rates

Of the 796 completed ADAM interviews, 696 respondents completed the domestic violence survey addendum. The total response rate for completing the domestic violence survey component was 92.2 percent.

Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales

The survey instrument was influenced and based, in part, on the Conflict Tactic Scale (Straus and Gelles, 1986).

Original Release Date View help for Original Release Date

2003-06-25

Version History View help for Version History