NCJ Number
246314
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 18 Issue: 5 Dated: September-October 2013 Pages: 462-470
Date Published
2013
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Men and women who kill an intimate partner experience qualitatively different situations and emotions in the months and weeks preceding the homicide event.
Abstract
Men and women who kill an intimate partner experience qualitatively different situations and emotions in the months and weeks preceding the homicide event. Theoretical explanations of intimate partner homicide are either gender-specific or gender-neutral, and, as such, fail to take these gender differences into account. This article extends current theory by presenting a general strain theory of intimate partner homicide. General strain theory suggests that men and women who kill an intimate partner experience different types of strain and emotions, and that homicide occurs in response to these experiences. This application not only affords gender-sensitivity, but also incorporates negative emotions often neglected by other theory-building, explains coping mechanisms, and combines proximal and distal etiological factors.