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Fatal violence among spouses in the United States, 1976-85

Author

Listed:
  • Mercy, J.A.
  • Saltzman, L.E.

Abstract

In this paper we examine patterns and trends in homicides between marriage partners in the United States for 1976 through 1985 using data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Supplemental Homicide Reports (FBI-SHR). We identified 16,595 spouse homicides accounting for 8.8 per cent of all homicides reported to the FBI-SHR during this 10-year period. The rate of spouse homicide for this 10-year period was 1.6 per 100,000 married persons. The risk of being killed by one's spouse was 1.3 times greater for wives than for husbands. Black husbands were at greater risk of spouse homicide victimization than Black wives or White spouses of either sex. The risk of victimization was greater for spouses in interracial than in intraracial marriages and increased as age differences between spouses increased. From 1976 through 1985, the risk of spouse homicide declined by more than 45.0 per cent for both Black husbands and wives but remained relatively stable for White husbands and wives. Demographic patterns in the risk of spouse homicide were similar to those reported for nonfatal spouse abuse suggesting that the causes of spouse homicide and nonfatal spouse abuse may be similar.

Suggested Citation

  • Mercy, J.A. & Saltzman, L.E., 1989. "Fatal violence among spouses in the United States, 1976-85," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 79(5), pages 595-599.
    • Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:1989:79:5:595-599_5
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    Cited by:

    1. Adinkrah, Mensah, 2000. "Female-perpetrated spousal homicides The case of Fiji," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 151-161.
    2. Martin Kolk, 2015. "Age Differences in Unions: Continuity and Divergence Among Swedish Couples Between 1932 and 2007," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 31(4), pages 365-382, October.
    3. Elizabeth Richardson Vigdor & James A. Mercy, 2006. "Do Laws Restricting Access to Firearms by Domestic Violence Offenders Prevent Intimate Partner Homicide?," Evaluation Review, , vol. 30(3), pages 313-346, June.
    4. Iyengar, Radha, 2009. "Does the certainty of arrest reduce domestic violence? Evidence from mandatory and recommended arrest laws," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1-2), pages 85-98, February.
    5. Nystedt, Paul, 2006. "Marital life course events and smoking behaviour in Sweden 1980-2000," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(6), pages 1427-1442, March.
    6. Jennings, Wesley G. & Piquero, Alex R., 2008. "Trajectories of non-intimate partner and intimate partner homicides, 1980-1999: The importance of rurality," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 435-443, September.
    7. Adinkrah, Mensah, 2008. "Spousal homicides in contemporary Ghana," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 209-216, July.

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