Alcohol-related family violence in Australia: Secondary data analysis of the National Drug Strategy Household Survey

Aims: Alcohol is a risk factor for family violence that affects partners, parents, children and other relatives. This study aims to provide estimates of the prevalence of alcohol-related family violence reported in 2016 in Australia across numerous socio-demographic groups.

Methods: This paper presents secondary data analysis of 23,749 respondents (10,840 men, 12,909 women) from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s 2016 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS). Alcohol-related family violence was measured by self-report as being physically or verbally abused or put in fear from a family member or partner deemed by the victim as under the influence of alcohol. Logistic regression was used to analyse which factors were associated with alcohol-related family violence.

Findings: Analysis revealed that 5.9% of respondents (7.7% of women and 4.0% of men) reported alcohol-related family violence in the past year from either a partner or another family member. Respondents who were women (vs men), within less advantaged (vs more advantaged) socio-economic groups, risky drinkers (vs non-risky drinkers), residing in outer regional areas (vs major cities), holding a diploma (vs high school education) and single with dependents, reported higher overall rates of alcohol-related family violence. In contrast, respondents aged 55+ had significantly lower odds of experiencing alcohol-related family violence than all other age groups.

Conclusions: Alcohol-related family violence was significantly more prevalent amongst respondents in a range of socio-demographic categories. Identification of these groups which are adversely affected by the drinking of family and partners can aid in informing current policy to protect those more vulnerable.