Status Compatibility and Trends in Physical and Emotional Intimate Partner Abuse in Canada in 1999-2019

• In Event: Research on Victim and Offender Risk for Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of disparities in income, employment status, educational attainment, and age between intimate partners on experiences of physical violence and emotional abuse between 1999 and 2019 in Canada. We combined 5 cycles of the General Social Survey (Victimization) datasets (i.e., 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019) for heterosexual couples who reported on their current relationships. We ran logistic regression analysis with periods of study held as a dummy variable for the repeated cross-sections of the dataset. While men were more likely than women to experience both physical/sexual IPV and emotional abuse in their current intimate relationships, the rates of both types of abuse declined for men and women between 1999 and 2019. The results suggest that status compatibility between intimate partners did not significantly influence the decline in experiences of physical violence for either partner. However, earning more than their husbands, as well as when both partners are employed, were identified as factors explaining the decline in emotional abuse victimization for women. The implications of these findings for policy, intervention strategies, and future research are discussed.

Authors

• Alexandra Lysova, Simon Fraser University

• Eugene Dim, University of Toronto

• Douglas Brownridge, University of Manitoba