The Relationship Between Foreclosures and Intimate Partner Violence During the U.S. Housing Crisis

2018/12/17 by Danielle Wallace, Alyssa W. Chamberlain, Alyssa Chamberlain +1
Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Crime Patterns and Interventions #Homelessness and Social Issues #Intimate Partner and Family Violence

paper · doi:10.1177/0886260518818431

openalex publication_date 2018/12/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30

Abstract

The recent U.S. housing crisis led to increases in neighborhood foreclosures and stress. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is linked to neighborhood stress, but less is known about whether foreclosures aggravate neighborhood conditions affecting IPV. Using police, foreclosure, and census data for three cities in the Phoenix region coupled with cross-sectional time series modeling, we find a direct effect of foreclosures on IPV, with the largest effects appearing at the end of the housing crisis. Our findings suggest that households living in communities that recover more slowly from housing downturns may be more prone to IPV.

Citations

• SOCIAL TIES AND CRIME: IS THE RELATIONSHIP GENDERED?*
• Abandoned buildings: Magnets for crime?
• Community Structure and Crime: Testing Social-Disorganization Theory
• The external costs of foreclosure: The impact of single‐family mortgage foreclosures on property values
• Crimes of Opportunity or Crimes of Emotion? Testing Two Explanations of Seasonal Change in Crime

Related

• Predictors of Housing Instability in Women Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence
• NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING INVESTMENTS AND VIOLENT CRIME IN SEATTLE, 1981–2007*
• Exploring the Impacts of Housing Instability on Intimate Partner Violence, Adverse Health and Risk Behaviours Among Women
• On the Street During the Great Recession: Exploring the Relationship Between Foreclosures and Homelessness
• The Home Foreclosure Crisis and Rising Suicide Rates, 2005 to 2010