NCJ Number
189579
Journal
Homicide Studies Volume: 5 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2001 Pages: 253-266
Date Published
August 2001
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article examines partner-killing by women in cohabiting relationships and marital relationships.
Abstract
Using a national-level U.S. database that included more than 400,000 homicides committed between 1976 and 1994, the article calculates rates of partner-killing by women by relationship type (cohabiting or marital), by partner ages, and by the age difference between partners. Men in cohabiting relationships were 10 times more likely to be killed by their partners than were married men. Within marriages, the risk of being killed by a partner decreased with a man's age. Within cohabiting relationships, middle-aged men were at greatest risk of being killed by their partners. The risk that a man would be killed by his partner generally increased with greater age difference between partners. These findings provided the first national-level replications of risk patterns reported for a national-level Canadian sample. Discussion highlighted future research directions, including identifying why men in cohabiting relationships incur greater risk of being killed by their partners than do married men. Figures, table, references