NCJ Number
195583
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 17 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2002 Pages: 255-264
Editor(s)
Roland D. Maiuro Ph.D.
Date Published
April 2002
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The article discusses motivations for male perpetrated domestic violence and the effect of a woman's age on her risk of victimization.
Abstract
The authors studied the validity of Wilson and Daly’s (1993) hypothesis that one goal of male-perpetrated domestic violence was control over female sexuality, including the deterrence of infidelity, especially among reproductive age female partners. Wilson and Daly further posited that based upon this goal, domestic violence would decrease sharply as women aged. The authors expanded upon the original hypothesis and tested a hypothesis that the decrease in domestic violence was not solely attributable to the age of the male partner-perpetrator. Domestic violence statistics and initial research relating to Wilson and Daly’s hypothesis are discussed. Study data consisted of 3,969 male-perpetrated partner abuse cases collected from the Domestic Violence Prevention Project in New York City. The analysis of the data supported Wilson and Daly’s original hypothesis and the new hypothesis of the study’s authors. Specifically, the study results indicate that domestic violence prevalence decreases as women age, reproductive age women are at a substantially greater risk (nearly 10 times greater) for domestic violence than post-reproductive age women, younger men are more likely than their older counterparts to engage in domestic violence, and the increased risk experienced by these younger women is not directly attributable to their pairing with younger mates. 2 tables, 2 figures, 36 references