So Long as They Both Shall Live: Marital Dissolution and the Decline of Domestic Homicide in France, 1852-1909

Abstract

This article suggests that the growth of European states, the decline of familism, and the rise of individualism generated the institutionalization of judicial separation and divorce. Time-series analyses of France (1852-1908) reveal a persistent negative association between separation/divorce and domestic homicide, especially among males. Neither indicators of economic change nor trends in the wider pattern of violent crime account for the relationship. Although marital dissolution is a negative correlate of premeditated domestic homicide, the rate of separation/divorce is directly associated with spontaneous domestic homicide, for both females and males and may indicate that abandoned spouses can become homicidal.