| This study examined how micro level variables (demographics of the suspect and the victim) affect the likelihood of aggravated assault and arrest in domestic violence, and how these individual level variables interact with contextual, macro-level variables (income level, locale). Moreover, the study also explored the relationship between the number of aggravated assaults, time of incidents, marital status, and the relationship between the presence of weapons at the scene and the likelihood of arrest for domestic violence incidents. This research is based on reported domestic violence incidents provided by the Louisville Metro Police Data Record Management System. The data set consists of 3,555 domestic violence incidents. This research has two different dependent variables, the likelihood of aggravated assault and the arrest in domestic violence incidents. Logistic regression and Hierarchical Linear Model (HLM) statistical methods were used to measure the interaction between individual, micro level variables, and neighborhood, macro level variables. According to HLM statistical analysis results, the relationship between social characteristics of individuals and the likelihood of aggravated assault and arrest changed when neighborhood variables were considered. The results of this study showed that race and gender of the victims and the suspects of domestic violence were related to aggravated assault. People who were married were less likely to experience aggravated assault than were people in other categories of relationships (e.g. former spouses, cohabitating partners). Children of intimate partners, people formerly living together, and unmarried people living together were more likely to experience aggravated assault than were people in other categories of relationships. It was found that race did not play a significant role in terms of aggravated assault for domestic violence incidents in economically disadvantaged areas. Poor white males were more likely to be victimized by their counterparts. New studies are needed to explore the relationship between social demographic characteristics of victims and suspects and aggravated assault in domestic violence. |
