Is Couple Heterogamy Associated with Intimate Partner Violence against Women? Evidence from the Generations and Gender Survey

Céline De Guchteneere , UCLouvain
Ester L. Rizzi, Université Catholique de Louvain

The study of intimate partner violence against women is of paramount importance as it has devastating consequences for the physical and mental health of the victims, as well as for society as a whole. Using the first wave of the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS-I), the aim of this study is to shed light on the link between differences in resources between partners and couple violence. The research questions that will guide our approach are: 1) Is educational heterogamy in a couple associated with intimate partner violence against women? 2) Is the accumulation of forms of heterogamy even more strongly associated with intimate partner violence against women? 3) Do gender attitudes have a moderating role? The aim of this study is thus to examine whether, within heterosexual couples, disparities in resources translate into varying probabilities of violent acts committed by men. Although some studies have addressed this phenomenon, they have mainly focused on income disparities. Moreover, to our knowledge, no quantitative study has attempted to analyze the interactive effect of several types of heterogamy in explaining domestic violence, or considered the moderating role of gender attitudes.

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 Presented in Session 86. Partner Selection