Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Police-Reported Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to examine racial and ethnic disparities in perpetrator and incident characteristics and discrepancies between police charges and reported perpetrator behaviors in police-reported intimate partner violence (IPV). This cross-sectional study used standardized police data and victim narratives of IPV incidents reported to the police in Dallas, Texas in 2004. The sample included non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic male perpetrators who were residents of Dallas (N = 4470). Offense charges were prioritized in descending order: sexual assault, aggravated assault, simple assault, kidnapping, robbery, and intimidation. Textual data from the victim narratives were coded, based on the revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS), and categorized in descending order of priority: sexual (severe, minor), physical (severe, minor), and psychological (severe, minor) assault. Perpetrators were more likely to be Black and Hispanic. Perpetrator and incident characteristics varied significantly by race/ethnicity, particularly age, age difference between partners, marital status, injury, and interracial relationships. Qualitative data revealed that greater proportions of Black and Hispanic men perpetrated severe physical, but not sexual violence, compared with White men. The greatest disparity between CTS categories and police charges occurred among those cases identified by the CTS as severe physical IPV; 84% were charged with simple assault. Significant differences by race/ethnicity were found only for simple assault charges, which were coded as severe physical as opposed to minor physical IPV more often among Black (69% and 31%) compared with White (62% and 38%) men. The disparities revealed in this study highlight the need to enhance primary and secondary prevention efforts within Black and Hispanic communities and to increase linkages between police, community, and public health organizations.

Adverse childhood experiences and intimate partner aggression in the US: Sex differences and similarities in psychosocial mediation

“…Previous studies have shown differences by age (Brown et al, 2013a; Schussler-Fiorenza Rose et al, 2014; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and 2009), gender (Kelly-Irving et al, 2013; Liu et al, 2013; Roxburgh and Macarthur, 2014), race/ethnicity (Brown et al, 2013a; Schussler-Fiorenza Rose et al, 2014; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and 2009; Roxburgh and Macarthur, 2014), income (Brown et al, 2013a; Schussler-Fiorenza Rose et al, 2014), education (Schussler-Fiorenza Rose et al, 2014; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and 2009), marital status (Brown et al, 2013a; Schussler-Fiorenza Rose et al, 2014), and insurance status (Brown et al, 2013a), associated with ACEs. Statistically significant differences by age (Brown et al, 2013b; Palmetto et al, 2013), sex (Clark et al, 2014; Cui et al, 2013; Lovestad and Krantz, 2012; Menard et al, 2014), race/ethnicity (Palmetto et al, 2013; Clark et al, 2014; Lipsky et al, 2012; Stephenson et al, 2011), income (Brown et al, 2013b; Edwards et al, 2014), education (Brown et al, 2013b; Stephenson et al, 2011), marital status (Brown et al, 2013b; Cui et al, 2013), and insurance status (Brown et al, 2013b) were associated with IPV. Therefore, the proposed study controlled for the following sociodemographic characteristics as confounders namely: age, race/ethnicity, income, education, marital status and insurance status.…”

Association Between Intimate Partner Violence and Preventive Screening Among Women

“…9 Marital status was found to be associated with incident characteristics of IPV. 33 HIV testing differs by race/ethnicity, with black and Hispanic women being less likely than white women to be tested. 34 Colorectal cancer screening varies by race/ethnicity.…”

Characterizing the spatial mismatch between intimate partner violence related healthcare services and arrests in Miami-Dade County, Florida

“…Despite research showing that minority and low-income communities often have both higher rates of IPV [22, 23] and fewer IPV-related resources [21], these topics remain disconnected in the literature. To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have evaluated the availability of IPV-related healthcare services relative to IPV arrests as a means for evaluating the extent of spatial concordance between IPV-related need and resources, and what factors are associated with any observed spatial mismatch.…”