Domestic Violence, Separation, and Suicide in Young men With Early Onset Alcoholism: Reanalyses of Murphy’s Data

Partner violence & partner separation at the time of completed suicide were investigated in 42 male alcoholics originally described by Murphy (1992). Half of the men had domestic violence histories. Partner-violent men were younger, had an earlier age of onset of alcoholism, & were more likely to be separated from their partner at the time of death than partner-nonviolent men. Loss of a close personal relationship, often a domestic partner, is common during the last year of life among alcoholic men completing suicide. Domestic violence appears to typify many of their domestic relationships, particularly among younge men & men with early onset alcoholism. (43 refs.)