Elsevier

Aggression and Violent Behavior

Volume 50, January–February 2020, 101358
Aggression and Violent Behavior

Intimate partner homicide: A meta-analysis of risk factors

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2019.101358Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Identify the risk factors associated with intimate partner homicide.

  • Quantitative studies with a comparison group were considered.

  • Intimate partner homicide versus comparison groups non-fatal perpetrators/other homicides/intimate partner homicide followed by suicide.

abusive couple dynamics are associated with a higher probability of intimate partner homicide.

Abstract

Homicide in intimate relationships is one of the most prevalent causes of death for women worldwide. This meta-analysis aims to identify and integrate, through analytical and statistical methodologies, the risk factors associated with intimate partner homicide. The research was performed in different databases and led to the inclusion of 28 empirical articles in this meta-analysis. Only quantitative papers with a comparison group (non-fatal perpetrators, other homicides, intimate partner homicide followed by suicide) were considered for this meta-analysis. The results showed that the risk factors related to abusive couple dynamics (threatening the victim with a weapon, any kind of threatening, death threats, bottlenecks, stalking and controlling behaviours, abuse during pregnancy and physical violence) are associated with a higher probability of intimate partner homicide. Further studies should provide more clarification of the factors associated with this phenomenon to improve the efficiency of the criminal investigation of intimate partner homicides, making crime repression and the protection of victims more effective.

Section snippets

Research on intimate partner homicide

Despite the existence of statistical sources, knowledge and information regarding homicides is still quite limited (Liem, 2013). IPH occurs essentially at home and in the private sphere (Lacanaria & David, 2018; Marcuello-Servós, Corradi, Weil, & Boira, 2016), and consequently, there are significant gaps in the data across the world, thus hampering preventive efforts (WHO, 2014). In general, 20.5% of the globally reported homicides had no information on the relationship between victims and

IPH risk factors

Several authors have tried to identify the risk factors for IPH related to the victim, to the perpetrator or even to previous couple dynamics. The majority of studies on this topic focused on femicide, which leads to a lack of knowledge of the dynamics involved in the IPH perpetrated by women against their partners. According to the literature, IPH occurs mostly because of a history of previous and reiterated abuse and violence (Campbell et al., 2003; Campbell, Glass, Sharps, Laughon, & Bloom,

Are intimate partner homicide offenders different from other offenders?

Despite the existing knowledge about IPH, there are still some discrepancies regarding the characterization of IPH offenders as well as the prediction of this crime (Loinaz, Marzabal, & Andrés-Pueyo, 2018). Social, psychological and biological factors have been noted as explanations for when and why violence is used in intimate relationships and what can distinguish violent events that become lethal from violent ones that do not end in lethality (Dobash, Dobash, Cavanagh, & Medina-Ariza, 2007).

Objectives and relevance

The literature on IPH predictors has undergone a thorough analysis in some areas, but others remain without any analysis (Aldridge & Browne, 2003; Liem, 2013; Spencer, 2018). In this meta-analysis, our main objective is to identify the scientific studies that characterize the IPH perpetrator and victim, as well as the context in which homicide occurs in intimate relationships, and to systematize the knowledge and the main results. According to Norman and Bradshaw (2013), it is also essential to

Meta-analysis

The advancement of scientific knowledge is based on the systematic construction of a study based on the accumulation of findings from previous studies that take our understanding to ever-greater heights (Card, 2012). A systematic review is a review of scientific literature outlined through the use of systematic methods to reduce possible biases, aiming to identify, select and critically analyse relevant studies on a formulated question (Sousa & Ribeiro, 2009). In the performed meta-analysis,

Samples, methods, and instruments

Half of the selected studies were conducted in the USA (n = 14, 50%), followed by Europe (n = 12, 43%), Mexico (n = 1, 3.5%) and South Africa (n = 1, 3.5%). Regarding the year of publication, only one article (3.5%) predates the 2000s; 17 (60.7%) of the articles were published between 2000 and 2009, and 10 (35.8%) were published between 2010 and 2018.

All studies included in this meta-analysis were quantitative, retrospective and case-control investigations. The data were collected mostly using

Discussion

The objective of this meta-analysis was to identify the factors that best predict IPH through a comparison of IPH victims and offenders, IPV offenders, and those who have committed other types of homicides on dyad characterization and dynamical, situational and criminal variables. Globally, the results showed that the factors with the greatest predictive power of a lethal outcome are those related to a previous history of abusive relational dynamics. Therefore, the risk assessment in an abusive

Conclusion and practical implications

These results allow us to identify some of the essential intervention areas in IPH prevention, with the dynamic predictors addressed playing an important role. On the one hand, the empowerment of victims through interventions in structural factors (e.g., unemployment, educational level) seems essential, as well as in individual vulnerability factors concerning the offenders (e.g., alcoholism, rehabilitation programmes). On the other hand, it is essential to have inclusion policies in

Acknowledgement

Funding: This study was partially conducted at the Psychology Research Center (PSI/01662), University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education (UID/PSI/01662/2019), through the national funds (PIDDAC).

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    *

    Represents the studies included in quantitative synthesis (meta-analysis).

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