Alcohol consumption and intimate partner violence perpetration among college students: the role of self-determination

The present research examined the role of self-determination theory in alcohol consumption and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration among college students. We were interested in evaluating the extent to which individual differences in self-determination (i.e., autonomous and controlled orientations) may influence problematic alcohol use and male-to-female IPV perpetration and the extent to which problem drinking may mediate the associations between self-determination and IPV perpetration.

A total of 313 incoming heterosexual, male freshman drinkers at a large northwestern university between the ages of 18 and 21 years completed self-report measures of autonomous and controlled orientations, alcohol use, and IPV perpetration as part of a larger social norms intervention study. Analyses evaluated the influence of autonomous and controlled orientations on alcohol consumption, associated problems, and IPV perpetration.

The proposed model fit the data relatively well, chi(2) (11, N = 313) = 32.19, p = NS, root mean square error of approximation = .079, normed fit index = .95, nonnormed fit index = .93, comparative fit index = .96. Both autonomous and controlled orientations had significant direct and indirect effects on perpetration through alcohol consumption. Although the model fit the data well, it explained a relatively small amount of variance in both alcohol consumption (5%) and perpetration (7%).

Findings support previous research implicating the role of alcohol in IPV perpetration. Additionally, our findings suggest that self-determination theory may be a useful heuristic in the examination of individual characteristics that promote alcohol consumption and IPV perpetration.