Ethnic adaptations to occupational strain: work-related stress, drinking, and wife assault among Anglo and Hispanic husbands.

Clinic as well as general population studies have established that both stress

and drinking are associated with increased risks for assaults by husbands

against wives (Kaufman Kantor, 1990; Straus & Gelles, 1990). However, few

studies have been conducted to explore ethnic differences in the nature of

these relationships. In particular, there has been a lack of research in these

areas with regard to Hispanic Americans. This article addresses the gap in the

literature by examining the relationships among work-related stress, alcohol

use, and wife assaults for Anglo and Hispanic Americans.

The importance of evaluating possible precursors to wife assaults among

Hispanic Americans is underscored by several factors that indicate they are

at particular risk for domestic violence. For example, rates of domestic

violence, including wife assault, are higher in Hispanic families than in Anglo

families (Kaufman Kantor, 1990; Loya, Mercy, & Associates, 1985; Straus &

Smith, 1990). Moreover, research on wife abuse has suggested that structural

inequalities such as poverty and unemployment increase the risk of physical

violence against wives and are associated with other violence-promoting

factors such as alcohol abuse (Eden & Aguilar, 1989; Kaufman Kantor,

Jasinski, & Aldarondo, 1994). These economic and work-related stressors are

prominent among Hispanic Americans. Their economic marginality is

evidenced by lower annual family incomes, higher school dropout rates, and

higher levels of unemployment (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1993).

There is some evidence to suggest that Hispanic Americans use alcohol,

rather than more formal treatment options, to deal with life stressors (Neff,

1986). In addition, prior research has demonstrated higher rates of escapist

drinking among non-Whites than among any other sociodemographic group

in the United States (Cahalan, Cisin, & Crossley, 1969). Analyses of ethnic

variations in drinking show that, relative to Anglo Americans, Hispanic

Americans have higher rates of binge drinking and other maladaptive patterns

of alcohol abuse (Caetano, 1985; Cahalan & Room, 1974; Kaufman Kantor,

1990; Neff, 1986; Neff, Hoppe, & Perea, 1987). Because excessive drinking

is a widely recognized risk factor for assaults within the family (Hotaling &

Sugarman, 1986; Kaufman Kantor & Straus, 1987), it may represent an

additional mechanism underlying the elevated rates of domestic violence

among Hispanic Americans.

Taken together, several distinct lines of investigation suggest that a

number of factors converge to make Hispanic Americans vulnerable to wife

assaults. The present study addresses the relative neglect of research on

ethnic

differences in the risks for wife assaults by examining variations in work

stress, drinking, and wife assault associations among Hispanic and Anglo

husbands. The major questions to be examined in this study include the

following:

1. To what extent is work-related stress associated with heavy drinking

among

husbands in Hispanic families compared to those in Anglo families?

2. To what extent is work-related stress associated with wife assaults among

husbands in Hispanic families compared to their Anglo counterparts?

3. Is the relationship between work-related stress and violence mediated by

drinking for Anglo and Hispanic husbands? That is, is work stress associated

with wife assaults via heavy drinking for either group?

Based on empirical evidence suggesting a link between high levels of

stress and alcohol consumption, the exposure of Hispanic Americans to such

stress, coupled with cultural legitimation of alcohol use to cope with stress,

would lead us to hypothesize that Hispanic Americans would be more likely

than Anglo-Americans to cope with stress by drinking. Prior research has also

demonstrated an association between drinking and violence. High rates of

maladaptive drinking, together with high rates of violence among the

Hispanic population, suggest the need for a closer examination of the links

among stress, drinking, and violence for this ethnic group.

METHOD

Sample

The data used for this article were obtained in 1992 as part of a national

study on alcohol-family violence relationships (Kaufman Kantor et al.,

1994). Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a national probability

sample of 1,970 people, including an oversample of about 800 Hispanic

people. Eligible respondents were those living as a couple with a member of

the opposite sex. One member of each household, either the husband or the

wife, was randomly selected and interviewed. Respondents were asked to

respond to questions about both themselves and their partners. Bilingual

interviewers were used in oversample areas. Although previous research has

indicated that Hispanic Americans are a heterogeneous ethnic group

(Kaufman Kantor et al., 1994), because of the small sample sizes of the

individual Hispanic groups, this study focuses on Hispanic Americans as a

singular group.

Measures

Ethnicity. The ethnicity of respondents and partners was assessed by the

question "Which of these racial and ethnic groups do you (your partner)

consider yourself: Pacific Islander; Asian; Native American or Alaskan

Native; White but not Latino; Black but not Latino; Latino or Hispanic, or

some other group?"

In this study we use the terms Anglo to refer to respondents or partners

described as White but not Latino (n = 812) and Hispanic to refer to

respondents or partners described as Latino or Hispanic (n = 702).

Work-related stress. We used three measures to assess stress associated

with the workplace. The …