NORTH HILLS : Domestic Violence Is Topic of Seminar

Alcoholism and domestic violence are separate but equal evils, and each requires a different remedy, says Dr. Sandra G. Baca, who will speak at a conference Friday in North Hills on alcoholism and violence in immigrant families.

“A lot of people think alcohol causes domestic violence, but that’s just not true,” Baca said. “The ‘liquid courage’ encourages it, but it’s not alcohol alone that causes the violence. It’s other impairment, social and psychological problems. Alcohol is one issue; violence is another.”

Baca, executive director of About-Face, a domestic violence intervention program in Los Angeles, will talk about how to prevent domestic violence, while Abraham Amaya, a clinical psychologist at the Institute of Advanced Therapy in Inglewood, will discuss the results of his research into alcoholism and Mexican-American families.

“One of the most surprising things was that I found the second generation (of Mexican Americans) the most resistant to acculturation,” Amaya said. “They are the generation whose parents came from Mexico, but they were born here. They speak Spanish, they want to return to Mexico to see their relatives, but they are also under pressure here. “

Amaya said second-generation Mexican Americans try to relax and avoid emotional or psychological problems by drinking alcohol instead of seeking therapy.

The conference, sponsored by the San Fernando Valley branch of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the Los Angeles Unified School District, will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. at Noble Elementary School, 8329 Noble Ave., North Hills.

The conference, open to the public, will be conducted in Spanish. Interpreters will be available to translate into English.