Drinking frequently has been associated with intrafamily violence. Reviews have found that
excessive alcohol use is a strong and consistent correlate of marital violence, but that violence
rates vary based on research designs, methodologies, and samples. Therefore, the role of
alcohol remains unclear. Studies based on interviews with abused wives tend to report higher
proportions of alcohol involvement than do general population studies or police samples. In a
study examining episodes of domestic violence reported to the police in Zurich, Switzerland,
evidence of alcohol involvement was found in 40% of the investigated situations. Police
officers thus believed there was a clear link between alcohol and violence in at least 26% of
the cases studied (Maffli & Zumbrunn, 2003).