Drug abuse and domestic violence

Intimate partner aggression is a big problem in the U.S., as elsewhere, and surveys have found more than one in five couples reporting it within the past year. Both sexes have been found to engage in it, women more than men, although with less serious consequences. Intimate partner aggression can lead to depression, injury, shame, post-traumatic stress disorder and even suicide so much effort has been devoted to identifying its causes. Drug abuse is thought to be one of the main factors involved and a review of 96 different studies has found that increases in drug use and drug-related problems are significantly associated with increases in aggression between intimate partners. Cocaine was the drug with the strongest relationship to psychological, physical and sexual aggression although marijuana was also significant.

Moore, Todd A. ... [et al] - Drug abuse and aggression between intimate partners: a meta-analytic review Clinical Psychology Review 2008, 28, 247-274