Effects of Alcohol Use and Anti-American Indian Attitudes on Domestic-Violence Culpability Decisions for American Indian and Euro-American Actors

Abstract

Domestic violence has been recognized as a serious social issue since the 1970s.1 With changes in societal attitudes toward domestic violence, educational and legal policies have been implemented to promote immediate police responses, sheltered living for victims, and adjudication of abusers.2 Concomitant with this, extensive research has been conducted on the etiology, treatment, and perceptions of domestic-violence actors.3 Few studies have focused on the unique issues surrounding American Indian violence. Yet American Indian women are at high risk for domestic abuse, and domestic violence has been identified as the most important issue for American Indians now and in the future by the National Congress of American Indians.4 American Indian women suffer from domestic abuse at higher rates than other ethnic groups of women, in line with general violence rates against Indians.5 Unlike other groups of women, American Indian women are more likely to be victimized by someone of another race (that is, non-Indians) rather than by American Indian males.6 The purpose of this research was to examine whether self-rated anti–American Indian attitudes influence domestic-violence culpability perceptions when the domesticviolence actors’ race (American Indian or Euro-American) and alcohol use (intoxicated or not) were varied within a fabricated trial transcript.