(WITHDRAWN) Intimate Partner Violence-Related Suicides Among Young People in the United States: Data from 40 States/Regions (2014-2018)

Background and Purpose: Among young people, experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) and using violence in intimate relationships are both associated with elevated risk for suicidal ideation and self-harm. Research examining IPV and suicide has focused primarily on homicide-suicide events, leaving suicides that are unconnected to homicides (i.e., single suicides) largely unexamined in extant scholarship. To address this critical gap, we developed and tested innovative strategies for comprehensively identifying IPV-related suicides in National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) data. We sought to identify the proportion of suicides for which IPV victimization and/or perpetration was a potential precipitating factor for suicide in both homicide-suicide and single-suicide cases among decedents ages 0–24. We also aimed to characterize IPV as described in available death narratives.

Methods: We used 2014-2018 NVDRS data with known circumstances from 38 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC (N=29,702 cases). In these data, we manually reviewed medical examiner/coroner and law enforcement death narratives from suicides among decedents ages 7–24 years where NVDRS abstractors had already noted the presence of various possible IPV indicators (e.g., stalking, jealousy, romantic conflict; n=3,859 cases). First, we identified the presence of IPV circumstances using the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s definition. Next, we coded whether the narratives reported a history of IPV perpetration and/or victimization and types of abusive tactics described in the narratives. After all coders coded 80 cases together to reach agreement, 10% of all narratives were double-coded, with evidence of substantial inter-coder reliability (Fleiss ĸ=0.70).

Results: Findings suggested that IPV circumstances were present in 5.7% (n=883) of all suicides with known circumstances for this age group. Among suicide decedents with IPV circumstances, 19.1% (n=169) were female and 80.9% (n=714) were male. Most IPV-related suicides were not connected to other fatalities (n=826, 93.5%); 6.5% (n=57) were connected to homicide(s). In 80.1% (n=713) of IPV-related suicides, narratives indicated that the decedent had perpetrated IPV before death; 17.6% (n=155) indicated the decedent had experienced IPV victimization either directly and/or as a corollary victim before death. Results suggested 50.2% (n=443) of IPV-related suicide decedents threatened suicide before death, and 30.7% threatened suicide in a coercive manner towards an intimate partner.

Conclusions and Implications: These findings underscore the critical need for both research and interventions that address IPV as a precipitating factor for suicides among young people. Given that approximately 50% of IPV-related suicides had prior disclosure of suicidality, there may be opportunities to intervene to de-escalate both IPV and address suicide risk. Considering comprehensive approaches to address IPV, suicidality, and shared underlying factors that connect these problems among young people is an important focus for future social work research and practice.