Gender, Life Domains, and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration: A Partial Test of Agnew’s General Theory of Crime and Delinquency

• Author: Alex R. Piquero,Fawn T. Ngo,Egbert Zavala
• Date: 01 July 2022
• DOI: 10.1177/00224278211048946
• Published date: 01 July 2022
• Subject Matter: Original Research Articles

Gender, Life

Domains, and

Intimate Partner

Violence

Perpetration: A

Partial Test of

Agnew’s General

Theory of Crime and

Delinquency

Fawn T. Ngo

1

, Egbert Zavala

2

,

and Alex R. Piquero

3,4

Abstract

Objectives: We assess the proposed mechanisms outlined in Agnew’s

General Theory of Crime and Delinquency about gender differences in

crime and deviance (gender differences are due to differences between

males and females in their standing on the life domains or differences in

1

Department of Criminology, University of South Florida, Sarasota, FL, USA

2

Department of Criminal Justice, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA

3

University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA

4

Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

Corresponding Author:

Fawn T. Ngo. Department of Criminology, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences,

University of South Florida, 8350 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34243, USA.

Email: fawnngo@usf.edu

Original Research Article

Journal of Research in Crime and

Delinquency

2022, Vol. 59(4) 487–529

© The Author(s) 2022

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/00224278211048946

journals.sagepub.com/home/jrc

the effect of the life domains on the phenomenon among males and females)

in accounting for sex differences in intimate partner violence (IPV) among a

sample of young adult s. Methods: Drawing data from the International Dating

Violence Study (IDVS) and employing the negative binomial regression

method, we examined the effects of six self-domains, four family domains,

one school/work domain, and one peer domain measures on IPV. Results:

Although males reported a higher frequency across all f‌ive life domains com-

pared to females, the number of life domain variables that were signif‌icantly

related to IPV among females was greater than the number among males.

Further, the effects of the life domain variables on IPV were different for

males and females with the peer variable (criminal peers) exhibiting the

greatest effect on IPV among males and the self-domain (anger issues) dem-

onstrating the greatest effect on IPVamong females. Conclusions: Agnew’sthe-

ory is well suited to assess sex differences in IPV.

Keywords

Agnew’s integrated general theory, life domains, intimate partner violence,

sex (gender) differences

Introduction

Intimate partner violence (IPV), def‌ined as physical, sexual, or psychologi-

cal harm perpetrated by a current or former romantic partner, is a signif‌icant

legal, social, and public health problem (Saltzman et al. 2002). In the United

States (U.S.), it is estimated that one in three women and one in four men

have experienced physical and/or sexual aggression, and nearly half of all

women and men have experienced psychological and verbal aggression

by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime (Smith et al. 2017).

The consequences of IPV are well documented in the literature. Notably,

it has been suggested that even mild and infrequent forms of IPV have impli-

cations for the victim’s physical and mental well-being and his/her relation-

ship functioning (McNeal and Amato 1998; Umberson et al. 1998;

Lawrence and Bradbury 2001; Lawrence et al. 2009).

To understand IPV, several theoretical models and typologies of IPV perpe-

tration have been articulated. However, the literature still lacks a theoretical

framework that provides systematic connections among the vast assortment of

risk factors. In their review of IPV theories, Langer and Lawrence (2010)

noted that “a greater understanding of IPV and future investigations of IPV

need to be guided by comprehensive theories that incorporate multiple

488 Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 59(4)

theoretical perspectives, model the dynamic and interactional nature of IPV, and

emphasize variables or processes that can be targeted in interventions”(p. 369).

Currently, there is one theory that not only integrates the key insights from the

dominant theoretical perspectives on crime and deviance that are pertinent to

IPV—namely, biological, psychological, control, strain, and social learning—

but also organizes known risk factors of IPV as identif‌ied in these major

crime theories and prior research into an integrated perspective. The theory

also posits direct, indirect, and reciprocal effects among risk factors and crime,

and the nonlinear and/or contemporaneous effects of the risk factors on crime

and one another. The theory is Agnew’s (2005) General Theory of Crime and

Delinquency and to date, it has not been applied to examine IPV perpetration,

a crime of serious human and policy signif‌icance, but we believe could offer

important promise in this space—at least in a preliminary fashion.

In this paper, we examine the eff‌icacy of Agnew’s theory in understand-

ing gender differences in IPV perpetration. Agnew’s perspective is well

suited for exploring this topic because the theory was developed to

account for both within- and between-individual patterns of offending.

According to Agnew, a range of individual and social variables within

f‌ive life spheres or domains (e.g., self, family, school, work, and peer)

affect crime and deviance, and group differences in crime rates, including

sex differences, are either due to (1) differences in the standing on the life

domains between the groups or (2) differences in the effects of the life

domains on crime among the groups. Hence, a key inquiry the present

study seeks to assess is the extent to which the above-proposed processes

from Agnew’s theoretical framework may help illuminate our understanding

of IPV perpetration among a sample of male and female young adults. In so

doing, our analysis offers a preliminary application of Agnew’s theory to

IPV in general, and then to gender differences in IPV perpetration in partic-

ular, that can be built upon, elaborated, and extended in future inquiry.

The remainder of our paper is organized as follows. First, we introduce

Agnew’s theory and describe how IPV risk factors identif‌ied in prior

research are categorized within Agnew’s framework. We also outline the

propositions related to gender differences in crime and deviance posited

in Agnew’s theory. Next, we introduce our data and methods. Finally, we

present our results and discuss the implications of our f‌indings.

Agnew’s General Theory of Crime and Delinquency

In the f‌ield of criminology, Agnew is best known for his efforts at revitaliz-

ing traditional strain perspectives (Cohen 1955; Cloward and Ohlin 1960;

Ngo et al. 489