Simultaneous Marijuana and Alcohol Use and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration in College Students

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization is a prevalent public health problem in college students and is associated with a variety of negative outcomes, such as suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms. Alcohol use and IPV perpetration are strongly and positively associated in college students, but the literature is less clear when examining the relationship between marijuana use and IPV perpetration. Further, no study has examined the relationship between simultaneous marijuana and alcohol (SAM) use (i.e., using alcohol and marijuana at the same time so that the effects overlap) and IPV perpetration in college students. Thus, the current thesis cross-sectionally examined the association between SAM use and physical, sexual, and psychological IPV perpetration in college students (N = 534). Results indicated that SAM use was significantly and positively associated with sexual IPV perpetration (B = 0.10, p