Citation
Kaufman, Joanne & Walsh, Christine (2019). Race/Ethnicity and Continuity of Intimate Partner Violence from Adolescence to Adulthood.Abstract
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a significant social problem with peak rates for offending and victimization in early adulthood, making that a critical time period to understand IPV within the life course. In addition, Blacks and Latinos experience higher rates of IPV than Whites. Black Criminology scholars point to unique experiences of minorities, particularly Blacks, as critical for assessing how and why race matters. This includes a consideration of discrimination and concentrated disadvantage, which is expected to more strongly affect Blacks. However, relatively little literature has examined life course patterns of IPV by race/ethnicity and the results have been limited and contradictory. We draw on general and IPV life course literatures and Black Criminology to frame our analyses of four waves from the Add Health dataset. Through race specific equations we find that exposure to concentrated disadvantage in early adulthood predicts continuation in IPV for Blacks and Latinos but not Whites. In addition, prior experiences with child abuse predicts continuation of IPV for Whites only. We discuss how these and other results point to the importance of focusing on race/ethnicity when assessing life course patterns.Reference Type
Conference paperBook Title
American Society of CriminologyAuthor(s)
Kaufman, JoanneWalsh, Christine