Male Perpetrated Female-Victim Intimate Partner Homicides in Populous U.S. Cities: A Multilevel Analysis

• In Event: The Antecedents of Homicide and Hate Crime

Abstract

Nonlethal and lethal violent acts against women remains as a significant health concern. Guided by the feminist theory, the purpose of the current study is to examine the relationship between macro-level and structural forces (i.e., female status, income inequality, firearm violence prevention strategies) and male perpetrated female victim intimate partner homicide (FVIPH) rates in populous U.S. cities. Specifically, we test the backlash hypothesis by assessing if increased female status and income inequality is related to male perpetrated FVIPH rates in 317 U.S. cities with populations over 100,000 nested in 45 states. Additionally, by utilizing a multilevel approach, we examine if and how measures of female status, income inequality, and firearm violence prevention strategies help explain variability of male perpetrated FVIPH rates across states and variability of male perpetrated FVIPH rates of cities nested within states. This study uses aggregate data across a 5-year time period, 2016 to 2020, collected from FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) and U.S. Census American Community Survey (ACS). Findings from this study provides support and recommendations for future research aiming to apply multilevel analyses to improve the understanding of the relationship between structural forces and male perpetrated FVIPH.

Authors

• Madelyn Diaz, University of Central Florida

• Amy Reckdenwald, University of Central Florida