Participant sociodemographic characteristics
Information concerning ethnicity, age, education level, religion, occupation, marital status, and number of children will be obtained. Among women who are married or cohabitating, information regarding the duration of their relationship will be obtained along with the sociodemographic characteristics of their partners (e.g., age, education level, and occupation).
Alcohol consumption
Alcohol consumption will be assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), a screening tool developed by the WHO [
49] that consists of 10 questions: 3 concerning consumption amount and frequency, 3 regarding dependence symptoms, and 4 concerning personal and social problems related to alcohol abuse. The final score reflects the following alcohol consumption levels or patterns: abstainers/low risk (0–7 points), hazardous use (8–15 points), harmful use (16–19 points), and probable dependence (20–40 points). The AUDIT has been previously validated in several countries, including Brazil, and shows good sensitivity (mean = 0.90) and specificity (mean = 0.80) regarding the detection of harmful alcohol consumption [
49,
50].
Information concerning the respondents’ use of any healthcare service over the previous 3 months, the approach of health professionals regarding respondents’ alcohol consumption, respondent participation in any treatment for alcohol consumption, and the respondents’ perceptions of their partners’ alcohol consumption will also be obtained.
Consumption of other substances
Information regarding the consumption of tobacco, marijuana, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, antidepressants, and cocaine over the three months preceding the interview will be obtained.
Health
A structured 15-question instrument concerning the respondents’ general health and the presence of specific diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart problems will be administered.
Depression
The population-based screening scale for depression from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies (i.e., the CES-D) will be used. This screening instrument seeks to identify depressive symptoms within adult population-based studies [
51]. Consisting of 20 items, its total score ranges from 0 to 60 points, with the higher scores indicating a greater amount of depressive symptoms. The cutoff of 16 points is often used to classify individuals as having possible depression. The CES-D has been previously validated for use in Brazil and shows satisfactory levels of reliability [
52,
53].
Domestic violence
The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2) will be employed to collect information on violence between intimate partners, whereas the Parent–child Conflict Tactics Scales (CTSPC) will be used to assess domestic violence by women against their children.
The CTS2 was designed to assess violence within couples, and it provides data on the respondent and her partner. This survey consists of 78 items, and each item is displayed in a set of two questions. The first question of each set refers to a possible behavior of the respondent, whereas the second refers to the same action but experienced by the partner. This instrument consists of 5 subscales that address the occurrence of negotiation, psychological aggression, physical violence, consequences of violence affecting the health of the respondent and her partner (i.e., injuries), and sexual coercion within the relationship. The CTS2 shows an internal consistency between 0.65–0.86 and an intra-observer reliability (kappa) above 0.75 when evaluated in Brazilian samples to assess its conceptual equivalence, semantic equivalence, and psychometric properties [
54‐
56].
The CTSPC was designed based on the refinement of the previous instrument, and it addresses the parent–child relationship. This instrument is composed of questions regarding the occurrence of certain behaviors directed at children. Its 22 items are divided into three levels: nonviolent discipline (e.g., explaining errors and applying punishment), psychological aggression (e.g., swearing, screaming, threatening to kick the child out, or hitting), and physical assault (e.g., face slapping, throwing the child on the floor, or threatening with a knife); the latter was subdivided into corporal punishment, physical abuse, and severe physical abuse. The CTSPC had previously been cross-culturally adapted for use in Brazil; furthermore, prior work found that its internal consistency ranged from 0.49–0.68, and estimates of its intra-observer reliability (kappa) were above 0.75 [
57,
58].
According to Straus [
59] (the author of the CTS2 and CTSPC), these instruments investigate the occurrence of behaviors that, unlike emotions, attitudes, and beliefs, are less susceptible to distortions with regard to the interpretation of facts. Importantly, the methodological choice for these assessments reflects an understanding of domestic violence as a complex phenomenon that tends not to remain restricted to only one member of the family [
58]. Furthermore, research indicates that violent acts are typically reciprocal, i.e., the respondent might be both the aggressor and the victim [
60].
The information regarding alcohol consumption provided by the respondent and her partner during episodes of violence will also be incorporated by adapting the violence scales. After each CTS2 and CTSPC item, the interviewer will ask whether one of the involved individuals was under the influence of alcohol when the event occurred.
The CTS2 and CTSPC will be self-applied, whereas all of the other instruments will be administered to participants during interviews. Except for the CES-D, which refers to the events of the previous week, all of the instruments will be adapted to consider a time period of three months.