TOWARDS AN ENHANCED UNDERSTANDING OF INTIMATE PARTNER
VIOLENCE ARREST AND RECIDIVISM WITH AN EMPHASIS ON FEMALE
OFFENDERS
A Thesis
Presented to the faculty of the Department of Sociology
California State University, Sacramento
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in
Sociology
by
Brady Patrick Livingston
SPRING
2013
TOWARDS AN ENHANCED UNDERSTANDING OF INTIMATE PARTNER
VIOLENCE ARREST AND RECIDIVISM WITH AN EMPHASIS ON FEMALE
OFFENDERS
A Thesis
by
Brady Patrick Livingston
Approved by:
__________________________________, Committee Chair
Aya Ida-Kimura, Ph.D.
__________________________________, Second Reader
Rodney Kingsnorth, Ph.D.
____________________________
Date
ii
Student: Brady Patrick Livingston
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University
format manual, and that this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to
be awarded for the thesis.
__________________________, Graduate Coordinator
Amy Liu, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology
iii
___________________
Date
Abstract
of
TOWARDS AN ENHANCED UNDERSTANDING OF INTIMATE PARTNER
VIOLENCE ARREST AND RECIDIVISM WITH AN EMPHASIS ON FEMALE
OFFENDERS
by
Brady Patrick Livingston
This Thesis attempts to expand the explanatory framework beyond just gender and
classical theory to include community level variables. Therefore, the theoretical
frameworks guiding this study are the concepts of concentrated disadvantage and
collective efficacy. The data used for this study comes from three data sets. First a dataset
consisting of 8,461 IPV arrests processed by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s
office and “closed” between July 1, 1999 and December 18th, 2001. Secondly, a dataset
was developed from the Bureau of the Census 2000 zip code data creating a
“concentrated disadvantage” index composed of six different indicators for thirty-nine of
the forty-nine geographical zip codes in Sacramento County. Lastly, the third subset
comes from the California Department of Justice (DOJ) who provided arrest histories for
all 892 female arrestees in the original sample of 8,461. A random sample of 450 cases
was selected for detailed analysis including IPV recidivism rates as well as number and
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type of non-IPV arrests. IPV arrest rates for males and females were positively associated
with community concentrated disadvantage. IPV arrest rates (both female and male) were
positively correlated with total crime rate for communities within the Sacramento Police
department’s jurisdiction. The odds of an offender with a prior IPV arrest committing
IPV is 3.585 times as great as that of a person without prior IPV. Finally, the results of
this study indicate that those who are married with children have a 19.3% chance of
recidivating whereas those offenders who are not married and with no children have a
37.7% chance.
Keywords: Intimate Partner Violence, Concentrated Disadvantage, Recidivism,
Collective Efficacy
_______________________, Committee Chair
Aya Ida-Kimura, Ph.D.
_______________________
Date
v
DEDICATION
I dedicate this study primarily to my mother, Barbara Livingston, my father, Pat
Livingston, and all of those I love for it is with their endless encouragement, love, and
prayers that made everything below possible.
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Rodney Kingsnorth and Aya Kimura-Ida for the opportunity
to pursue this research project together. This experience has enabled me to improve my
ability to synthesize a lot of information into a document that adds to the criminal justice
dialogue. I wouldn’t have been able to complete this Thesis without your endless
encouragement, dedication, and countless hours invested into the completion of this
research. The amount of time spent analyzing, researching, writing, and paraphrasing was
made possible with your support. I have the highest respect for both of you as educators,
professors, and as friends.
Secondly, I would like to send out a huge thanks to Tyler Johnson from the AIRC
computer lab for helping me format my Thesis properly! Without his patience and
assistance, I’d still be formatting.
Lastly, beyond everything I thank God for always being there for me throughout
this entire process, giving me the faith that I needed to endure, and surrounding me with
his constant favor. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me – Philippians
4:13.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Dedication ................................................................................................................................ vi
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ vii
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ x
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION..………………………………………………………………………. 1
Criminal Justice Response to IPV Over The Last 30 Years ........................................ 2
2. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................... 6
Intimate Partner Violence Defined .............................................................................. 6
Gender Symmetry and IPV .......................................................................................... 6
Theories within the Classical Cannon………………………………………………...9
Modern Theoretical Framework……………………………………………………..11
IPV Across Race and Ethnicity…………………………………………………….. 16
3. METHODS ....................................................................................................................... 20
Data and Samples……………………………………………………………………20
Measures and Variables .............................................................................................. 22
4. RESULTS ......................................................................................................................... 24
Descriptive Statistics………………………………………………………………. 24
Inferential Statistics…………………………………………………………………24
5. DISCUSSION…………………………………………………………………………
30
6. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH……………………………………… 34
Appendix A. Categories and Codes ……………………………………………………….37
viii
Appendix B. Comparison of cases with and without known zip codes across selected
Variables…………………………………………………………………….38
Appendix C. Selected Penal Codes* related to Intimate Partner Violence……………….39
Appendix D. 2000 US Census Data – Sacramento County Race/Ethnic Demographics…40
References………..…………………………………………………………………………41
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LIST OF TABLES
Tables
Page
1.
Selected Offender and Victim Characteristics………………………………………...25
2.
Bivariate Relationship between Selected Case Characteristics and Recidivism………27
3.
Correlation Matrix Showing Relationship between Concentrated Disadvantage and
Selected Community and Individual Variables……………………………………….28
4.
Logistic Regression Analysis of Relationship between Selected Variables and IPV
Recidivism……………………………….……… .................................. ……………29
x