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Why is Age Discrepancy a Risk Factor for Intimate Partner Homicide?--Examining the Influence of Offender Criminal History

NCJ Number
208459
Journal
ICJIA Research Bulletin Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Dated: October 2003 Pages: 1-8
Author(s)
Noelia Breitman; Todd K. Shackelford; Carolyn Rebecca Block
Date Published
October 2003
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Utilizing one of the largest and detailed datasets on homicide in the United States, this study examined age discrepancy as a risk factor for intimate partner homicide.
Abstract
Based on the Chicago Homicide Dataset, research indicates that the risk of intimate partner homicide is greater when the man is at least 16 years older than the woman or the woman is at least 10 years older than the man. However, questions remain as to why age-discrepant couples are at higher risk and whether there are other factors involved that are related to age discrepancy. Utilizing the Chicago Homicide Dataset, information was included on 24,609 homicides recorded by the Chicago police between 1965 and 1996. Evidence showed that the association between the couple’s age discrepancy and their risk of intimate partner homicide could not be explained by the likelihood that the homicide offender had a previous arrest record. The risk of homicide was higher, relative to their numbers in the population, for age-disparate couples, and the higher risk could not be explained away by controlling for the offender’s gender or for the offender’s prior arrest record. In summation, the reason high age discrepancy between two intimate partners is associated with a higher risk of lethal violence remains undetermined. Figures