Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/302646 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 17129
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Most empirical studies indicate that becoming a mother is an augmenting factor for the perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV). Using rich population-wide hospital records data from Sweden, we conduct a stacked DiD analysis comparing the paths of women two years before and after the birth of their first child with same-age women who are several quarters older when giving birth to their first child and find that, in contrast to the consensus view, violence sharply decreases with pregnancy and motherhood. This decline has both a short-term and longer-term component, with the temporary decline in IPV covering most of the pregnancy until the child is 6 months old, mimicking a temporary decrease in hospital visits for alcohol abuse by the children's fathers. The more persistent decline is driven by women who leave the relationship after the birth of the child. Our evidence is not supportive of alternative mechanisms including suspicious hospitalizations, an overall reduction in hospital visits or selection in seeking medical care, mothers' added value as the main nurturer, or mothers' drop in relative earnings within the household. Our findings suggest the need to push for public health awareness campaigns underscoring the risk of victimization associated with substance abuse and to also provide women with more support to identify and leave a violent relationship.
Subjects: 
motherhood
stacked difference-in-differences model
event study
individual fixed effects
administrative longitudinal records data
population-wide estimates
JEL: 
J12
J13
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
960.36 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.