The Ecology of Domestic Violence: The Role of Alcohol Outlet Density - Essay Example

Alcohol intoxicates people’s minds; impair rationale and leads to effects such as hypersensitivity. Violent reactions in domestic set-ups are therefore likely consequences of alcohol abuse. With reactions such as physical abuse, victims of alcohol abuse based on domestic violence may suffer from injuries such as bruises and internal injuries towards poor quality of health. Extreme cases of internal injuries may lead to morbidity and mortalities. The significance of alcohol abuse as a problem to public health among communities was established in research that sought to investigate the relationship between the density of alcohol consumption sites and cases of abuse and domestic abuse. The study established a significant relationship between frequency of drinking outlets and domestic violence and this identifies the effects of alcohol use on people’s health through suffered injuries from the violence (Livingstone 2010).

The same observation on the relationship between the number of alcohol outlets and rates of domestic violence was observed across varying types of alcohol outlets. The quantitative approach to the studies implies external validity and reliability factors to inference the results to other locations in which studies have not been conducted on the effects of alcohol on domestic violence (Livingstone, 2011). Healthy people 2020 data, though limited to the national level, can similarly be inferred for statistics at city levels. The data estimated higher-level consumption of alcohol among 27 percent of people above majority age and a lower percentage of heavy alcohol consumers among older people, above 65 years, means that more alcohol abuse falls within the physically active group to increase the incidence of domestic violence (Healthypeople, 2013). Inference of these statistics on New York City (NY), therefore identifies the effects of alcohol consumption on domestic violence as a problem to public health.

Effects of alcohol abuse on violence against women are another significant issue to public health. The problem extends from domestic set-ups to public places such as alcohol outlets and drinking sites and like domestic violence, leads to physical injuries with probabilities of morbidity and mortality. A study that sought to explore the role of gender identity and binge alcohol consumption on violence identified gender as a significant factor in violence (Peralta, Callanan, Steele, and Wiley, 2011). A regional study on the relationship between alcohol abuse and violence against women, though conducted among sex workers, indicated that women under influence of alcohol are more susceptible to gender-based violence. Such a relationship defines alcohol abuse among women as a significant public health problem because of the involved consequences. The Healthy People 2020 data that identify a significant percentage of adults with alcohol consumption validates the problem and the quantitative scopes of the data sets means that the observations can be inferred to New York City (Chen, Bonita, Yan, Yiyun, Qiao Wei and Yuejiao, 2013; Healthypeople, 2013).

The two sets of social problems identify alcohol as a motivator to domestic violence and its management can improve public health initiatives.