Characteristics of the residential neighborhood environment differentiate intimate partner femicide in urban versus rural settings. J Rural Health 2013 Jun;29(3):281-93
Date
06/28/2013Pubmed ID
23802930Pubmed Central ID
PMC3695409DOI
10.1111/j.1748-0361.2012.00448.xScopus ID
2-s2.0-84879601626 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 29 CitationsAbstract
PURPOSE: A growing body of work examines the association between neighborhood environment and intimate partner violence (IPV). As in the larger literature examining the influence of place context on health, rural settings are understudied and urban and rural residential environments are rarely compared. In addition, despite increased attention to the linkages between neighborhood environment and IPV, few studies have examined the influence of neighborhood context on intimate partner femicide (IPF). In this paper, we examine the role for neighborhood-level factors in differentiating urban and rural IPFs in Wisconsin, USA.
METHODS: We use a combination of Wisconsin Violent Death Reporting System (WVDRS) data and Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WCADV) reports from 2004 to 2008, in concert with neighborhood-level information from the US Census Bureau and US Department of Agriculture, to compare urban and rural IPFs.
FINDINGS: Rates of IPF vary based on degree of rurality, and bivariate analyses show differences between urban and rural victims in race/ethnicity, marital status, country of birth, and neighborhood characteristics. After controlling for individual characteristics, the nature of the residential neighborhood environment significantly differentiates urban and rural IPFs.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest a different role for neighborhood context in affecting intimate violence risk in rural settings, and that different measures may be needed to capture the qualities of rural environments that affect intimate violence risk. Our findings reinforce the argument that multilevel strategies are required to understand and reduce the burden of intimate violence, and that interventions may need to be crafted for specific geographical contexts.
Author List
Beyer KM, Layde PM, Hamberger LK, Laud PWAuthors
Kirsten M. Beyer PhD, MPH Professor in the Institute for Health and Equity department at Medical College of WisconsinPurushottam W. Laud PhD Professor in the Institute for Health and Equity department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdult
Aged
Censuses
Databases, Factual
Domestic Violence
Female
Homicide
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Residence Characteristics
Rural Population
Sexual Partners
Socioeconomic Factors
Urban Population
Wisconsin
Young Adult
