A Developmental and Life-Course Approach to Further Understanding of the Nature and Causes of Intimate Partner Violence and Femicide

• Published date: 01 May 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10439862241245880
• Author: Chelsey S. Narvey,Catherine Kaukinen,Nicole Leeper Piquero,Alex R. Piquero
• Date: 01 May 2024

https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862241245880

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2024, Vol. 40(2) 272 –289

© The Author(s) 2024

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DOI: 10.1177/10439862241245880

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Article

A Developmental and Life-

Course Approach to Further

Understanding of the Nature

and Causes of Intimate

Partner Violence and

Femicide

Chelsey S. Narvey1, Catherine Kaukinen2, Nicole

Leeper Piquero3, and Alex R. Piquero3

Abstract

The current paper explores the theoretical and empirical capacity of developmental

and life-course criminology (DLC) to further our understanding of non-lethal intimate

partner violence (IPV) and femicide. Drawing on Sampson and Laub’s age-graded

theory and Moffitt’s dual taxonomy, the paper delves into empirical research that has

identified and examined the overlap between general offending and IPV, highlighting

how these DLC theoretical frameworks could provide insight into non-lethal IPV and

femicide. We also outline the ways in which these DLC perspectives are challenged

to fully address the gendered nature of IPV and less able to provide an empirical and

theoretical understanding of the role of power and control by men over their women

partners. We then place these frameworks within the global impact of the COVID-19

pandemic on gender-based violence, including femicide. While the COVID-19

lockdowns increased vulnerability to IPV and increased homicide in the United States,

the expected rise in femicide did not materialize—at least within the United States,

prompting questions about the extent to which existing criminological theories are

able to provide a framework for these types of crime trends during unprecedented

events. We examine the way non-lethal and lethal IPV are shaped by different factors

as outlined in Moffitt’s dual taxonomy. The pandemic for example did not create

increased psychopathy (i.e., affective and personality disorders) associated with the

1Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA

2Kennesaw State University, GA, USA

3University of Miami, FL, USA

Corresponding Author:

Chelsey S. Narvey, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX 77340, USA.

Email: Cxn042@shsu.edu

1245880CCJXXX10.1177/10439862241245880Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeNarvey et al.

research-article2024

Narvey et al. 273

risk for femicide, but the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns did

create increased economic and family stressors, which placed many at-risk women

and children in further social isolation, and reduced access to victim services. We

conclude a need for further theoretical development surrounding femicide, integrating

developmental and life-course perspectives, thereby emphasizing the need for refined

frameworks to address the intricate dynamics of violence against women globally.

Keywords

femicide, developmental and life-course criminology, intimate partner violence

Introduction

For over a quarter of a century, developmental and life-course criminology (DLC) has

captured the imagination of criminologists (Farrington et al., 2018; Piquero, 2023).

Theoretical, empirical, and policy-related work with respect to the ebb and flow of

criminal activity over the life-course blossomed in the early 1990s in large part due to

a range of frameworks that were built on charting not just the nature of criminal activ-

ity throughout life, but also the various risk and protective factors over time that could

be related to changes in criminal activity and desistance from crime. While a number

of such theoretical frameworks appeared in the literature, perhaps the two most nota-

ble were the complimentary works of Laub and Sampson (1993) and Moffitt (1993).

Sampson and Laub’s age-graded informal social control theory outlined a general

theory of crime marked by continuity and change, especially with respect to how life

events and transitions embedded within long-term trajectories are associated with

changes in offending. Their re-analysis of the original Glueck data as well as a long-

term follow-up of the men well into their 70s showed that certain life events, such as

marriage, were related to reductions in offending, but that predicting high-rates of

offending later in the life-course using childhood risk factors was less promising.

Their life narrative interviews also brought forth the heavy influence of human agency

in redirecting trajectories of criminal activity.

Unlike the more general theory put forth by Sampson and Laub, Moffitt’s develop-

mental taxonomy argues that the offending population is comprised of two distinct

groups of offenders. The first, adolescence-limited offenders, restrict their delinquent

activity to the teenage years and engage in adult-like acts such as theft and drug use in

large part because of their maturity gap (i.e., feeling like adults but not being treated

like adults) and their interaction with similarly situated peers. Moffitt’s adolescence-

limited typology provides a powerful framework to add to our understanding of the

extent and nature of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration over the life course

and in particular, adolescent dating violence, given IPV in adolescence and young

adulthood is common and there appears to be significant gender symmetry among

perpetration and victimization (Eisner, 2021).

In contrast, life-course-persistent offending has its origins in early childhood neu-

ropsychological deficits along with the impacts of experiences of disadvantaged