Physical violence among Anglo, African American, and hispanic couples: Ethnic differences in persistence and cessation

Research on violence against women has developed exponentially over the past 20 years, however, there are still many areas in which knowledge is scarce. In particular, there is very little empirical information regarding the cessation and persistence of intimate violence against women. There is even less research that looks at racial and ethnic differences in patterns of violence. This study uses data from the first and second waves of the National Survey of Families and Households to examine changing patterns of physical violence in a sample of approximately 3,000 married and cohabiting couples. The results from the current study suggest that the same factors that might increase the initial risk for violent behavior may not affect whether or not this behavior continues. Additionally, the same risk factors may be related in different ways to different patterns of violence for different racial/ethnic groups.