Intergenerational Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence as Familial Risk Factors for Lifetime Attempted Suicide Among Battered Women

Abstract

This study examines the impact of two factors, intergenerational substance abuse and exposureto domestic violence, on the lifetime attempted suicide histories of adult, minority, batteredwomen residing in a domestic violence shelter. A total of 122 women, mostly African Americanand Latina, were interviewed to obtain their retrospective reports of the frequency and use ofsubstances and on the incidences of domestic violence among their immediate (first-degree) andextended (second-degree) family members. Results revealed that battered women with a historyof suicide attempts (n = 45) were more likely to report substance abuse among both first-degree(specifically fathers) and second-degree relatives than were women without such suicide attempthistories (n = 77). Attempters were also more likely to report witnessing the physical abuse oftheir mothers. The multiple impacts of the extended family are discussed in light of thesefindings.