Intimate Partners in Crime: Utilizing Life Course Analysis to Examine Female Involvement in Criminal Activity While Cohabiting

• In Event: Violence, Crime, & Intimate Partners: Causes and Responses

Abstract

Employing a life course analysis and incorporating a feminist critique, this research examines the role of cohabiting and criminality. Specifically, the research explores if living with a male partner who engages in criminal activity increases the likelihood that a female partner will engage in similar criminal behavior. This research will extend life course analysis given that it focuses singularly on the life event of marriage and its effect on female criminality. Furthermore, while marriage seems to be a valid turning point, the role of the “relationship status” prior to arrest remains unexplored. Research on cohabiting partners is limited. Preliminary analysis from survey data reveals a direct correlation between female offending and cohabitation. This addition to the literature extends life course analysis in that it situates criminal involvement in more than just a life event (i.e. marriage) but rather a series of events (dating, being introduced to new friends, limited family engagement in personal life, unstable employment, etc) that introduces women to criminal activity.

Author

• Emily Hayden, Eastern Kentucky University