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This Article Extract Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2005.065243v1 95/7/1092-a    most recent Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bácskai, E. Articles by Gerevich, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bácskai, E. Articles by Gerevich, J.

Erika Bácskai, PhD, Ágnes Tallár and József Gerevich, MD, PhD

The authors are with the Addiction Research Institute, Budapest, Hungary.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to József Gerevich, MD, PhD, Addiction Research Institute, Pf 216, Budapest 1276, Hungary (e-mail: gerevichj{at}axelero.hu).

According to Xu et al., intimate partner violence in which women are the victims is common in China¹; the authors found an incidence of violence in China similar to levels observed in the United States.^2,3 Xu and colleagues evaluated this phenomenon within the cultural context of China. In their opinion, many Chinese women still regard male dominance as normal, and there appears to be a significant relationship between the probability of violence and the traditional cultural attitude.

While there can be no doubt about the cultural context, it is not at all certain that the continued existence of the traditional model of male–female relations is the only factor behind these findings. Xu et al. found a clear connection between drinking and violence, in line with other research findings. We suggest that alcohol’s functions as a means of regulating tension and a form of self-medication, and changes in these functions, are at least as important among the causes of family violence as drinking itself. These functions of alcohol could be particularly significant in a society such as China, which is undergoing extremely deep and complex social changes and where the combination of old traditions, leftover communist influences, and market relations is unique. Further research is needed to throw light on the specific social changes to which the connections between drinking and violence in China can be attributed.

References

1. Xu X, Zhu F, O’Campo P, Koenig MA, Mock V, Campbell J. Prevalence of and risk factors for intimate partner violence in China. Am J Public Health. 2005; 95:78–85.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

2. Schafer J, Caetano R, Cook CL. Rates of intimate partner violence in the United States. Am J Public Health. 1998;88:1702–1704.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

3. Marshal MP. For better or for worse? The effects of alcohol use on marital functioning. Clin Psychol Rev. 2003;23:959–997.[Medline]

This Article Extract Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2005.065243v1 95/7/1092-a    most recent Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bácskai, E. Articles by Gerevich, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bácskai, E. Articles by Gerevich, J.