Alcohol Consumption and Intimate Partner Violence
Causal Evidence from India
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 17285354 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rohan Ray (Oxford Policy Management, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-14 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-18 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Development Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-0388 • E-ISSN: 1743-9140 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00220388.2026.2625055 |
| OpenAlex | W7130418719 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 19 |
A study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows that about 35% of women in the world have been victims of physical or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime. In this paper, I study the causal impact of alcohol consumption on IPV using nationally representative data from the Demographic and Health Survey in India. To address potential endogeneity concerns, I exploit the spatial variation in alcohol ban and minimum legal drinking age across states to instrument for husband’s alcohol consumption. The instrumental variable estimates show that alcohol consumption by the husband increases prevalence of less severe and severe physical violence by 55 and 24 percentage points respectively. I further show that the results are not driven by ‘unobservables’ such as gender attitudes. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that there exists a vicious cycle of IPV whereby vulnerable individuals residing in poorly constructed houses or with previous exposure to domestic abuse are more susceptible.
Alcohol consumption · Consumption (sociology) · Domestic violence · Poison control · Public health · Spouse · Agricultural risk and resilience · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Intimate Partner and Family Violence
Substance Abuse, Violence, and HIV in Women
Substance abuse and violence
Exposure to domestic violence
The impact of domestic violence on the maternal-child relationship and preschool-age children's functioning.
The impact of exposure to domestic violence on children and young people
Absent presence
An intergenerational model of domestic violence
Personality Disorder Symptoms in Women as a Result of Chronic Intimate Male Partner Violence
Attitudes and Family Violence
The effect of marital endowments on domestic violence in India
The effectiveness and effects of alcohol regulation
| Highly cited | No |
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