Citation

Ramirez IL. J. Interpers. Violence 2005; 20(12): 1628-1647.

Affiliation

Texas Tech University, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0886260505278715

PMID

16246921

Abstract

This study analyzed a sample of 348 college students to examine the role that criminal history and Mexican ethnicity play in predicting intimate partner violence. Respondents who committed crimes in the past (before the age of 15) had a higher probability of severely physically assaulting a partner than those respondents who had committed crime later in life (after the age of 15). A history of property crime was found to be a better predictor of severe partner assault than a history of violent crime. The results support a generalist perspective on crime, which states that most individuals typically do not commit one type of crime solely but commit a variety of different crimes (property and violent). This study also found differences between Mexican American and non-Mexican White students in reference to minor assaults on a partner.