Changing Relationships between Men and Women: A Note on the Decline in Intimate Partner Homicide

Using a rich data set for St. Louis, this article documents a substantial decline in intimate partner homicide over the past 25 years, compares intimate partner events with other types of homicide, and explores the relationship between changes over time in the level and type of intimate partner homicide and the living arrangements of men and women. The author finds that much of the decrease in partner homicide is a function of the declining rate of marriage and that, in certain key respects, homicides involving unmarried couples more closely resemble acquaintance homicides than spousal homicides. Finally, the author proposes that some of the broad social changes involving marriage and family that have contributed to the decline in intimate partner homicide may be deeply implicated in the dramatic rise in youth violence over the past 10 years.