Marital Separation and Lethal Male Partner Violence

Findings reported by many researchers indicate that the association between marital separation and intimate partner femicide has achieved the status of a sociological empirical generalization. The primary objective of this article is to contribute toward the cumulative development of a conflict theoretic explanation of separation- associated femicide by creating and testing a deductive conflict resolution theory that explains the empirical generalization. The causal mechanism identified in the theory is the intensity of conflict that increases with participation in adversarial and separation and divorce proceedings. Interventions logically derived from the theory are presented in the penultimate segment. Limitations are identified in the concluding segment.