The History of Abuse and Drug Use - Research Paper Example

. These victims of intimate partner violence were also more likely to test positive for tobacco use, alcohol, and drug abuse. They also manifested depression and social isolation. This study concluded a strong link between substance abuse and intimate partner violence among African-American women. Women who have had a history of substance abuse are also more vulnerable to partner abuse. This study covered a substantial number of respondents, and it provided the most accessible group of respondents from the emergency department.

The results were well evaluated and assessed based on relevant variables, mostly those about substance abuse and their impact on the respondents’ personal relationship. However, the study is limited in terms of area covered, which is the urban area; these results cannot be generalized to a non-urban area. Moreover, the data was gathered based on self-reports from the respondents. This resulted in some bias in the gathering of data, including non-disclosure of essential information. Nevertheless, these results are promptly supported by other studies cited in the literature review, with these studies lending validity to these results.

These results also provide recommendations that relate to improvements in the target therapies for African-American women, mostly on interventions related to rehabilitation and behaviour therapy, to eliminate the habit of substance abuse and eventually eliminate intimate partner violence.Concerning post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the study by Bradley et al. (2005) discussed how there is a lack of research on the risk factors for PTSD among low-income African-American women with a history of intimate partner violence.

The authors, therefore, sought to evaluate self-esteem, social support, religious coping as mediators for possible childhood maltreatment and intimate partner violence among low-income African-American women. The authors utilized various instruments to study the respondents, including instruments like the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and the Davidson Trauma Scale.