What’s New in Psychology?
A Better Understanding of Intimate Partner Homicide
Jim Windell
In the U.S., it is not known what percent of homicides are related to intimate partner homicides. However, in Canada that rate is 20 percent.
What is known, though, is that the estimated cost of each homicide court case costs nearly $20 million.
While the money is significant, much more important is the price that is paid in terms of suffering and the long-range psychological effects on women, families of victims and children of murdered women.
Given this monetary and personal loss, a new study undertook an examination of the duration of the criminal careers of perpetrators prior to an intimate partner homicide (IPH). Specifically, the goal of the researchers from the University of Portsmouth in England, the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, the University of Montreal, and the Quebec Provincial Police in Canada, was to identify a range of predictors that influence the length of a criminal career before an IPH occurs. It was hoped this would uncover potential predictive indicators that could highlight risk factors for IPH.
According to study co-author, Dr. Sarah Paquette, from the University of Portsmouth’s Department of Psychology, “Intimate partner homicide is the ultimate manifestation of a spectrum of violence within current or past relationships. The fact that this type of killing makes up a fifth of all murders in Canada means understanding the predictors and risk factors of the crime is a matter of life or death.”
The study, published in The British Journal of Criminology, gathered insights from a database of criminal events recorded by police in the Quebec province between 1990 and 2022. It included information on offenders’ criminal careers as well as crime characteristics. 175,985 individuals had been involved in at least one incidence of intimate partner violence during this time. Of these, 1,219 had either attempted to, or killed their partner. Ultimately, researchers examined a random sample of 1,276 offenders, who were mostly men (87 per cent). Of these, 276 had killed their partner (92 per cent men), while the other 1,000 had a history of violence against them.
The team of researchers found similar characteristics between individuals who committed lethal and non-lethal violence towards their partner. On average, offenders committed two incidents of violence against their partner and seven other criminal events, with the first event happening in their early 30s. Factors associated with IPH included violent criminal history and repetition of criminal acts. Both male and female IPH offenders used sharp weapons, with patterns suggesting various motives including self-defense, fear, and anger.
Findings of the study also suggest that the likelihood of an IPH is stable over a criminal career. However, there were two distinct categories of violence that indicated how long until an IPH was committed. The first was severe violence – such as sexual assaults and physical violence – which would result in the victim’s death early in the offender’s criminal career. The second was chronic violence, where there was a persistent pattern of aggression and abuse over an extended period and the death occurred after a longer period of time.
“The objective of this study was to expand understanding of intimate partner homicide,” adds Dr. Paquette. “Our findings show severe episodes of intimate partner violence increase short-term risk of IPH, while repeated instances of various violent episodes heighten mid-to long-term risk. Law enforcement agencies can utilize this knowledge to develop targeted prevention strategies.”
To read the full journal article, find it with this reference:
Chopin, J., Guay, J.-P., Fortin, F., Paquette, S., Péloquin, O., & Chartrand, E. (2024). Earlier or Later? A Survival Analysis of Criminal Career and Contextual Factors Associated With Intimate Partner Homicide in Canada. The British Journal of Criminology, 2024;, azae023, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azae023
