Abstract
This study assessed the prevalence and correlates of intimate partner violence (IPV) among a sample of unionized construction industry workers, and tested the reliability of new measures of IPV normative beliefs. Study participants (n=100) voluntarily completed confidential and anonymous self-administered questionnaires that measured occupational factors, hazardous drinking, and normative beliefs. Measurement of past-year IPV was based on the Conflict Tactics Scale, Form R. Measures of IPV normative beliefs showed good reliability (Cronbach’s α 0.94–0.95). Past-year IPV prevalence was 26%. Logistic regression models were developed to assess the contribution of each factor to risk of past-year IPV perpetration. Perceived workplace racial/ethnic discrimination, job strain, interpersonal workplace conflict, normative beliefs, and hazardous drinking were positively associated with elevated IPV risk.Construction industry workers may have higher rates of IPV compared to general population samples that represent various occupations and social classes. Occupational factors appear to be significant correlates of IPV among these workers.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Albright, C. L., Pruitt, L., Castro, C., Gonzalez, A., Woo, S., & King, A. (2005). Modifying physical activity in a multiethnic sample of low-income women: One year results from the IMPACT project. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 30(3), 191–200.
Ames, G. M., Grube, J. W., & Moore, R. S. (1997). The relationship of drinking and hangovers to workplace problems: An empirical study. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 58(1), 37–47.
Ames, G. M., Grube, J. W., & Moore, R. S. (2000). Social control and workplace drinking norms: A comparison of two organizational cultures. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 61(2), 203–219.
Ames, G., & Janes, C. (1987). Heavy and problem drinking in an American blue collar population: Implications for prevention. Social Science and Medicine, 25(8), 949–960.
Ames, G. M., & Janes, C. R. (1992). A cultural approach to conceptualizing alcohol and the workplace. Alcohol Health & Research World, 16, 112–119.
Bachman, R., & Saltzman, L. E. (1995). Violence against women: Estimates from the redesigned survey (NCJ-154348). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.
Baltrus, P. T., Lynch, J. W., Everson-Rose, S., Raghunathan, T. E., & Kaplan, G. A. (2005). Race/ethnicity, life-course socioeconomic position, and body weight trajectories over 34 years: The Alameda County Study. American Journal of Public Health, 95(9), 1595–1601.
Bang, K. M., & Kim, J. H. (2001). Prevalence of cigarette smoking by occupation and industry in the United States. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 40, 233–239.
Barbeau, E., Krieger, N., & Soobader, M.-J. (2004). Working class matters: Socioeconomic disadvantage, race/ethnicity, gender, and smoking in NHIS 2000. American Journal of Public Health, 94(2), 269–278.
Browne, A. (1993). Violence against women by male partners: Prevalence, outcomes, and policy implications. American Psychologist, 48, 1077–1087.
Caetano, R., Cunradi, C. B., Schafer, J., & Clark, C. L. (2000). Intimate partner violence and drinking among white, black and Hispanic couples in the U.S. Journal of Substance Abuse, 11(2), 123–138.
Caetano, R., Schafer, J., & Cunradi, C. B. (2001). Alcohol-related intimate partner violence among white, black and Hispanic couples in the United States. Alcohol Research and Health, 25(1), 58–65.
Crum, R., Muntaner, C., Waton, W., & Anthony, J. (1995). Occupational stress and the risk of alcohol abuse and dependence. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 19(3), 647–655.
Cunradi, C. B., Caetano, R., & Schafer, J. (2002). Alcohol-related problems, drug use, and male intimate partner violence severity among US couples. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 26(4), 493–500.
Fals-Stewart, W., Golden, J., & Schumacher, J. A. (2003). Intimate partner violence and substance use: A longitudinal day-to-day examination. Addictive Behaviors, 28, 1555–1574.
Fox, G. L., Benson, M. L., Demaris, A. A., & Van Wyk, J. (2002). Economic distress and intimate violence: Testing family stress and resources theory. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 793–807.
Gary, T. L., Baptiste-Roberts, K., Gregg, E. W., Williams, D. E., Beckles, G. L. A., Miller, E. J., et al. (2004). Fruit, vegetable and fat intake in a population-based sample of African Americans. Journal of the National Medical Association, 96(12), 1599–1605.
Giovino, G. A., Pederson, L. L., & Trosclair, A. (2000). The prevalence of selected cigarette smoking behaviors by occupational class in the United States. Paper presented at Work, Smoking and Health: A NIOSH Scientific Workshop, Washington, DC
Goetzel, R. Z., Juday, T. R., & Ozminkowski, R. J. (1999). What’s the ROI? A systematic review of return-on-investment studies of corporate health and productivity management initiatives. Worksite Health, 3, 12–21.
Graham, K., Leonard, K. E., Room, R., Wild, T. C., Pihl, R. O., Bois, C., et al. (1998). Current directions in research on understanding and preventing intoxicated aggression. Addiction, 93(5), 659–676.
Grube, J., Ames, G., & Delaney, W. (1994). Alcohol expectancies and workplace drinking. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24(7), 646–660.
Grube, J., & Morgan, M. (1990). Attitude–social support interactions: Contingent consistency effects in the prediction of adolescent smoking, drinking, and drug use. Social Psychology Quarterly, 53, 329–339.
Hotaling, G., & Sugarman, D. (1986). An analysis of risk markers in husband to wife violence: The current state of knowledge. Violence Victims, 1(2), 101–124.
Inglis, V., Ball, K., & Crawford, D. (2005). Why do women of low socioeconomic status have poorer dietary behaviours than women of higher socioeconomic status? A qualitative exploration. Appetite, 45(3), 334–343.
Jetter, K., & Cassady, D. L. (2006). The availability and cost of healthier food alternatives. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 30(1), 38–44.
Kaufman Kantor, G. (1990). The ‘drunken bum’ theory of wife beating. In M. Straus & R. Gelles (Eds.), Physical violence in American families. New Brunswick: Transaction.
Leonard, K. E. (2005). Alcohol and intimate partner violence: When can we say that heavy drinking is a contributing cause of violence? Addiction, 100, 422–425.
Leonard, K. E., Bromet, E. J., Parkinson, D. K., Day, N. L., & Ryan, C. M. (1985). Patterns of alcohol use and physically aggressive behavior in men. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 46(4), 279–282.
MacEwen, K. E., & Barling, J. (1988). Multiple stressors, violence in the family of origin, and marital aggression: A longitudinal investigation. Journal of Family Violence, 3(1), 73–87.
Mandell, W., Eaton, W., Anthony, J., & Garrison, R. (1992). Alcoholism and occupations: A review and analysis of 104 occupations. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 16(4), 734–746.
McLeod, J. D., & Kessler, R. C. (1990). Socioeconomic status differences in vulnerability to undesirable life events. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 31, 162–172 (June).
Norris, F. (2006). When it comes to pay, it helps to be the one signing the checks. The New York Times, 4 February.
O’Leary, K. D., & Schumacher, J. A. (2003). The association between alcohol use and intimate partner violence: Linear effect, threshold effect, or both? Addictive Behaviors, 28, 1575–1585.
Parker, D., & Harford, T. (1992). Gender–role attitudes, job competition, and alcohol consumption among women and men. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 16, 159–165.
Pelletier, K. R. (1996). A review and analysis of the health and cost-effective outcome studies of comprehensive health promotion and disease prevention programs at the worksite: 1993–1995 update. American Journal of Health Promotion, 10, 380–388.
Saunders, J., Aaland, O., Babor, T., De La Fuente, J., & Grant, M. (1993). Development of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): WHO Collaborative Project on Early Detection of Persons with Harmful Alcohol Consumption—II. Addiction, 88, 791–804.
Schafer, J., Caetano, R., & Clark, C. L. (1998). Rates of intimate partner violence in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 88(11), 1702–1704.
Sherif, M. (1965). The psychology of social norms. New York: Octagon Books.
Sorenson, S., Upchurch, D., & Shen, H. (1996). Violence and injury in marital arguments: Risk patterns and gender differences. American Journal of Public Health, 86(1), 35–40.
Straus, M. A. (1990a). Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: The Conflict Tactics (CT) Scales. In M. Straus & R. Gelles (Eds.), Physical violence in American families (pp. 29–47). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
Straus, M. A. (1990b). The Conflict Tactics Scale and its critics: An evaluation and new data on validity and reliability. In M. A. Straus & R. J. Gelles (Eds.), Physical violence in American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8,145 families (pp. 49–73). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
Straus, M. A. (1990c). Social stress and marital violence in a national sample of American families. In M. A. Straus & R. J. Gelles (Eds.), Physical violence in American families (pp. 181–201). New Brunswick: Transaction.
Straus, M. A., & Gelles, R. J. (1990). How violent are American families? Estimates from the National Family Violence Resurvey and other studies. In M. A. Straus & R. J. Gelles (Eds.), Physical violence in American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8145 families (pp. 95–112). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
Sweet, J. A., & Bumpass, L. L. (1996). The National Survey of families and households—waves 1 and 2: Data description and documentation. Madison, WI: Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin.
Testa, M. (2004). The role of substance use in male-to-female physical and sexual violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 19(12), 1494–1505.
Testa, M., Quigley, B. M., & Leonard, K. E. (2003). Does alcohol make a difference? Within-participants comparison of incidents of partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18(7), 735–743.
Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (1998). Prevalence, incidence, and consequences of violence against women: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey (NCJ-172837). Washington, DC: Institute of Justice.
Turner, R. (1995). The epidemiology of social stress. American Sociological Review, 60, 104–125 (February).
U.S. Bureau of the Census (1999). Earnings by occupation and education. Retrieved Sept. 13, 2006, from: http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/earnings/call2camale.html.
Wood, E., Olmstead, G., & Craig, J. (1989). An evaluation of lifestyle risk factors and absenteeism after two years in a worksite health promotion. American Journal of Health Promotion, 4(2), 128–133.
Acknowledgments
Funding for this project was provided by a corporate development grant from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Calverton, MD to Drs. Genevieve Ames and Carol Cunradi.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cunradi, C.B., Ames, G.M. & Moore, R.S. Prevalence and Correlates of Intimate Partner Violence Among a Sample of Construction Industry Workers. J Fam Viol 23, 101–112 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-007-9131-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-007-9131-x