ASU project hopes to learn more about domestic violent partners, their victims

TEMPE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) -- A research project by Arizona State University hopes to learn more about the risk factors and signs that prompt romantic partners to turn violent.

Jill Messing, a professor at the School of Social Work, leads the Office of Gender-Based Violence as it learns what factors lead people to become violent and, sometimes, kill their partners. She joined Good Morning Arizona on Thursday to discuss how they’re looking for families who lost a loved one between 2016 and 2020 in six states: Arizona, New Jersey, Maryland, Missouri, Oregon, or Texas.

“We’re looking to recruit what we call ‘proxy informants’ – people who knew the intimate partner homicide victim well,” Messing said in a news release. They’re also trying to portray a more accurate picture of the victims. “A lot of data racially misclassifies indigenous and Latinx folks... we want to avoid those pitfalls.”

The group has already gathered some research from police departments in Missouri, showcasing that most of the homicides in their communities were domestic-related. If not violent toward their partners, it was most often their children. Messing has already co-developed a “myPlan” app as part of her work in the field, with help from colleagues from Johns Hopkins. That app allows help people to gauge how their relationship is with their partners and find local and national resources, should they need them.

People interested in participating in the PAIR Studies interviews can call 602-543-3316 or email pair.studies@asu.edu. For more information on the project, click/tap here for the ASU News report.

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