Violence and substance abuse are major problems in the lives of many U.S. women. Numerous authoritative studies also show a substantial association between a history of substance abuse and a history of violent assault among women. Within this context, the present study asks three questions. This study used data from the National Women's Study.
Drug abuse increases women's risk of being assaulted.
Women drug abusers were almost twice as likely as non-abusers to be assaulted during the study. The experience of assault plays a significant role in escalating both alcohol and drug use in women, even in women who did not have a history of alcohol or drug abuse. However, women were more likely to turn to alcohol abuse than drug abuse after an assault. An assault history made women 5 times more likely to experience a new assault during the three years of the study. Youth and ethnic-minority status was significantly related to risk of being assaulted.