¹Jijila M.K, ²Moly Kuruvilla

¹Research Scholar, Department of Women’s Studies, University of Calicut, Kerala, India.

²Senior Professor, Department of Women’s Studies, University of Calicut, Kerala, India.

DOI : https://doi.org/10.58806/ijsshmr.2024.v3i4n01

Google Scholar Download Pdf
ABSTRACT

Alcoholism is a pervasive phenomenon. Many wives around the world have endured decades of suffering from husbands who abuse their wives and children when they get home drunk. Remarkably, the majority of women stay away from expressing their disapproval and instead timidly adapt to their husbands' behaviors. The present investigation is part of the attempt to understand the factors influencing mental health of women in Kerala. The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase a quantitative survey among 300 women to assess the mental health status of women was conducted. Fifty women, 25 each with the highest and lowest mental health scores in the survey were selected for the second phase of the study. The factors influencing mental health of women were explored using in depth unstructured interviews with the 50 women followed by thematic analysis. This study clearly demonstrates how alcohol consumption by husbands has an impact on women, their kids, and families as a whole. Women who live with alcoholic husbands have heavy mental stress and they face several forms of economic, emotional, sexual and physical violence in their day to day lives.

KEYWORDS:

Alcoholism, Violence Against Women, Mental Health, Domestic Violence, Sexual Abuse

REFERENCES

1) Aboagye, R. G., Ahinkorah, B. O., Tengan, C. L., Salifu, I., Acheampong, H. Y., & Seidu, A. A. (2022). Partner alcohol consumption and intimate partner violence against women in sexual unions in sub-Saharan Africa. PloS One, 17(12), e0278196. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278196

2) Abraham, B. (2023, August 31). Onam 2023: Kerala partied with all-time high liquor sale worth Rs 759 crore in ten days. https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/onam-2023-kerala-soled-rs-759-crore-worth-liquor- in-ten-days-613671.html. Accessed on 18.11.2023.

3) Ahmed, S., Khaium, M. O., & Tazmeem, F. (2020). COVID-19 lockdown in India triggers a rapid rise in suicides due to the alcohol withdrawal symptoms: Evidence from media reports. The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 66(8), 827–829. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764020938809

4) Babu, B.V. & Kar, S.K. (2010). Domestic violence in eastern India: Factors associated with victimization and perpetration. Public Health, 124 (3), 136-48, doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2010.01.014

5) Business Standard (2023). All-time liquor sale in Kerala on a high during New Year eve: BevCo. https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/all-time-liquor-sale-in-kerala-on-a-high- during-new-year-eve-bevco-123010100720_1.html accessed on 12.12.2023

6) Dale, C. E., & Livingston, M. J. (2010). The burden of alcohol drinking on co-workers in the Australian workplace. The Medical journal of Australia, 193(3), 138–140. https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326- 5377.2010.tb03831.x

7) Dostanic, N., Djikanovic, B., Jovanovic, M., Stamenkovic, Z., & Đeric, A. (2022). The Association Between Family Violence, Depression and Anxiety Among Women Whose Partners Have Been Treated for Alcohol Dependence. Journal of family violence, 37(2), 313–324. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-020- 00238-1

8) Dryden, J. (2022 March, 17). In U.S., Alcohol Use Disorder Linked to 232 Million Missed Workdays Annually, Wahington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/in-u-s-alcohol- use-disorder-linked-to-232-million-missed-workdays-annually/ accessed on 13.12.23

9) Ferrari, G., Agnew-Davies, R., Bailey, J., Howard, L., Howarth, E., Peters, T. J., Sardinha, L., & Feder, G. S. (2016). Domestic violence and mental health: a cross-sectional survey of women seeking help from domestic violence support services.Global health action, 9, 29890. https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v9.29890

10) Flanzer, J.P. (1993). Alcohol and Other Drugs are Key Causal Agents of Violence,” In: Gelles RJ, Loseke DR, editors. Current Controversies on Family Violence. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 171-81. doi:10.4135/9781483328584.n10

11) Galbicsek, C. (2020). Alcohol-Related Crimes. https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/alcohol/crimes/ accessed on 15.10.2023

12) Global Alcohol Policy Alliance, (2023). Successful GAPC 2023 held in Cape Town, https://globalgapa.org/events/gapc-2023-cape-town/ accessed on 15.12.2023.

13) Govindappa, L, & Pankajakshi, B. (2014). A community study on wives of alcoholics. DPS. 17, 323– 27, http://www.medind.nic.in/daa/t14/i2/daat14i2p323.pdf

14) Greenfield, T. K., Karriker-Jaffe, K. J., Kaplan, L. M., Kerr, W. C., & Wilsnack, S. C. (2015). Trends in alcohol's harms to others (AHTO) and co-occurrence of family-related AHTO: The Four US National Alcohol Surveys, 2000-2015. Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, 9(2), 23–31. https://doi.org/10.4137/SART.S23505

15) Indu, P. V., Jinu, C. R., Pallikkal, N. R., Sampathkumar, R., & Joy, J. (2018). Experience of domestic violence and psychological morbidity in spouses of alcohol-dependent males. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 40(4), 322–327. https://doi.org/10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_38_18

16) Jeyaseelan, L., Kumar, S., Neelakantan, N., Peedicayil, A., Pillai, R., & Duvvury, N. (2007). Physical spousal violence against women in India: Some risk factors. Journal of Biosocial Science, 39(5), 657–670. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021932007001836

17) Kaminen-Ahola N. (2020). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: Genetic and epigenetic mechanisms. Prenatal Diagnosis, 40(9), 1185–1192. https://doi.org/10.1002/pd.5731

18) Lander, L., Howsare, J., & Byrne, M. (2013). The impact of substance use disorders on families and children: from theory to practice. Social Work in Public Health, 28(3-4), 194–205. https://doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2013.759005

19) Laslett, A.-M., Callinan, S. and Pennay, A. (2013), The increasing significance of alcohol's harm to others research. Drugs and Alcohol Today, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 163-172. https://doi.org/10.1108/DAT-11-2012-0010

20) Lasota, D., Al-Wathinani, A., Krajewski, P., Goniewicz, K., & Pawłowski, W. (2020). Alcohol and road accidents involving pedestrians as unprotected road users. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(23), 8995. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238995

21) Mares, S. H., Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A., & Engels, R. C. (2013). Intergenerational transmission of drinking motives and how they relate to young adults' alcohol use. Alcohol and Alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire), 48(4), 445–451. https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agt025

22) Mattson, S. N., Bernes, G. A., & Doyle, L. R. (2019). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: A review of the neurobehavioral deficits associated with prenatal alcohol exposure. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 43(6), 1046–1062. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.14040

23) Mayshak, R., Curtis, A., Coomber, K., Tonner, L., Walker, A., Hyder, S., Liknaitzky, P., & Miller, P. (2022). Alcohol-involved family and domestic violence reported to police in Australia. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(3-4), NP1658–NP1685. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520928633

24) McCauley, J., Kern, D. E., Kolodner, K., Dill, L., Schroeder, A. F., DeChant, H. K., Ryden, J., Bass, E. B., & Derogatis, L. R. (1995). The "battering syndrome": prevalence and clinical characteristics of domestic violence in primary care internal medicine practices. Annals of Internal Medicine, 123(10), 737–746. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-123-10-199511150-00001

25) Mulia, N., Zemore, S. E., Murphy, R., Liu, H., & Catalano, R. (2014). Economic loss and alcohol consumption and problems during the 2008 to 2009 U.S. recession. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 38(4), 1026–1034. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.12301

26) Nasueb, S., Jankhotkaew, J., Vichitkunakorn, P., & Waleewong, O. (2022). The association among alcohol consumption patterns, drink-driving behaviors, and the harm from alcohol-related road traffic injuries due to the drinking of others in Thailand. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(23), 16281. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192316281

27) Parsakarathy, K. (2015). Psychosocial problems of wives of alcoholics. IJSR The Global Journals, 2, 574-575.

28) Pathath, A. W. & Begum, N. (2022). Parental alcoholism and subjective well-being of their children in Kerala. International Journal of Indian Psychology, 10(4), 856-860. DIP:18.01.083.20221004, DOI:10.25215/1004.083

29) Pathath. A. W, Begum. N, & Ali. S. I (2018). Alcoholism among Husbands and Its Psychological Impact on wives in Malappuram District. International Journal of Indian Psychology, 6(4), 62-65. DIP:18.01.048/20180604, DOI:10.25215/0604.048

30) Popova, S., Charness, M. E., Burd, L., Crawford, A., Hoyme, H. E., Mukherjee, R. A. S., Riley, E. P., & Elliott, E. J. (2023). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Nature Reviews. Disease Primers, 9(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-023-00420-x

31) Ray, K. (2023, February 9). Consumer Body Seeks Curbs as India's Per capital Alcohol Intake Doubles, Deccan Herald. https://www.deccanherald.com/india/consumer-body-seeks-curbs-as-indias-per-capital-alcohol-intake-doubles-1189689.html accessed on 10.11.2023.

32) Rehm J. (2011). The risks associated with alcohol use and alcoholism. Alcohol Research & Health: The Journal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 34(2), 135–143.

33) Saha, R., & Sharma, A. (2016). Primary Delusion and the Sociopolitical Milieu in India - A Case Report & Short Review. Shanghai Archives of Psychiatry, 28(4), 230–234. https://doi.org/10.11919/j.issn.1002- 0829.216040

34) Satyanarayana, V. A., Vaddiparti, K., Chandra, P. S., O'Leary, C. C., Benegal, V., & Cottler, L. B. (2010). Problem drinking among married men in India: comparison between husband's and wife's reports. Drug and Alcohol Review, 29(5), 557–562. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-3362.2010.00177.x

35) Schou, L., & Moan, I. S. (2016). Alcohol use-sickness absence association and the moderating role of gender and socioeconomic status: A literature review. Drug and Alcohol Review, 35(2), 158–169. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.12278

36) Sharma, N., Sharma, S., Ghai, S., Basu, D., Kumari, D., Singh, D., & Kaur, G. (2016). Living with an alcoholic partner: Problems faced and coping strategies used by wives of alcoholic clients. Industrial Psychiatry Journal, 25(1), 65–71. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-6748.196053

37) Sontate, K. V., Rahim Kamaluddin, M., Naina Mohamed, I., Mohamed, R. M. P., Shaikh, M. F., Kamal, H., & Kumar, J. (2021). Alcohol, aggression, and violence: From public health to neuroscience. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 699726. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.699726

38) Sreekumar, S., Subhalakshmi, T. P., & Varghese, P. J. (2016). Factors associated with resilience in wives of individuals with alcohol dependence syndrome. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 58(3), 307–310. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.192025

39) Stanesby, O., Callinan, S., Graham, K., Wilson, I. M., Greenfield, T. K., Wilsnack, S. C., Hettige, S., Hanh, H. T. M., Siengsounthone, L., Waleewong, O., & Laslett, A. M. (2018). Harm from known others' drinking by relationship proximity to the harmful drinker and gender: A meta-analysis across 10 countries. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 42(9), 1693–1703. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.13828

40) Stewart, K., Silcock, D., & Wegman, F. (2012). Reducing drink driving in low- and middle-income countries: challenges and opportunities. Traffic Injury Prevention, 13(2), 93–95. https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2011.634464

41) The New Indian Express, “Revenue from liquor sales in Kerala touched Rs 35k crore in 2 years”, 28 July 2023, https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2023/Jul/28/revenue-from-liquor-sales-in-kerala- touched-rs-35k-crore-in-2-years-2599304.html#:~:text=LOSS%20OF%20G41.95%20CR,95%20crore. Accessed on 25.12.23.

42) UN Women, (2020). Issue brief: Covid -19 and ending violence against women and girls. https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2020/04/issue-brief-covid-19-and-ending- violence-against-women-and-girls, accessed on 25.08.2023.

43) Valassery, D & Kuruvilla, M. (2018) Dowry and alcoholism as major causes for domestic violence in Kerala. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS), 23 (4), 33-39 Doi: 10.9790/0837- 2304053339

44) Verma, S., Saharan, A., Polcumpally, A.T., Biswas, M. (2020). Tentacles of COVID-19 in India: Impact on Indian Economy, Society, Polity and Geopolitics. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Studies 2 (3), 54– 61.

45) Vora, M., Malathesh, B. C., Das, S., & Chatterjee, S. S. (2020). COVID-19 and domestic violence against women. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 53, 102227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102227

46) Walker, L. E. (1977). Battered Women and Learned Helplessness. Victimology 2 (3-4), 525-534.

47) WHO, (2021). Global alcohol action plan 2022-2030 to strengthen implementation of the Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol, Second Draft (Unedited). https://reviewandmail.co.zw/global- alcohol-conference-set-for-cape-town/ accessed on 20.12.2023.

48) Wilson, I. M., Graham, K., Laslett, A. M., & Taft, A. (2020). Relationship trajectories of women experiencing alcohol-related intimate partner violence: A grounded-theory analysis of women's voices. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 264, 113307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113307

49) Wozniak, J. R., Riley, E. P., & Charness, M. E. (2019). Clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. The Lancet. Neurology, 18(8), 760–770. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474- 4422(19)30150-4

VOlUME 03 ISSUE 04 April 2024