Severity of dispositions and domestic violence recidivism

The effects of court dispositions on rearrest for domestic violence was examined for a sample of adults arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence in Hamilton County (Cincinnati), Ohio. Arrestees were tracked for one year after their sentences, if any, had been served. Qualitatively, more severe sentences (e.g., jail combined with probation versus either probation or jail) corresponded with lower recidivism likelihoods. Also, these sentences appeared most effective for persons with greater stakes in conformity (i.e., those less transient in terms of residence and employment and those living in neighborhoods with higher socioeconomic status).