Trends in Family Violence Are Not Causally Associated with
COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Orders: A Commentary
Jennifer M. Reingle Gonzalez1
Rebecca Molsberry1,2
Jonathan Maskaly3
Katelyn K. Jetelina2
1 Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, Dallas, TX
2 Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and
Environmental Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at
Houston, School of Public Health, Dallas, TX
3Department of Economic, Political and Policy
Sciences, University of Texas Dallas, Richardson, TX
Corresponding Author:
Jennifer Gonzalez, PhD
Senior Director of Population Health
Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute
2800 Swiss Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75204
jgonzalez@mmhpi.org
Phone: 908-601-2744
Biosketch es
Dr. Jennifer Gonzalez is the Senior Director of Population Health at the
Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute (MMHPI). She holds an adjunct
associate professor appointment at the UTHealth School of Public Health.
She earned her doctoral degree in epidemiology and a master’s degree in
criminal justice.
Ms. Rebecca Molsberry is a Population Health Analyst at MMHPI and PhD
student in epidemiology at UTHealth School of Public Health in Dallas,
with a breadth area in injury and violence.
Dr. Jon Maskaly is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal
Justice at the University of North Dakota.
Dr. Katelyn K. Jetelina is a violence epidemiologist and Assistant
Professor at the UTHealth at UTHealth School of Public Health in Dallas,
Texas.
.
Abstract
COVID-19 has caused a wave of research findings to be published in
academic and pre-print outlets which have resulted in several
high-profile retractions. Given the need to publish policy- and
practice-relevant research swiftly, the peer review process may issue
fewer checks and balances compared to those present in non-COVID related
scholarly works. This urgency to publish has led to publication of
manuscripts with major methodological challenges falling through the
cracks. In this perspective, we discuss this issue in light of a recent
manuscript by Piquero et al. (2020). In the study, the association
between stay-at-home orders and family violence was not statistically
significant; however, a 12.5% increase in family violence offenses was
widely disseminated by media outlets. The inaccurate dissemination of
research findings can have important implications for policy and the
virus mitigation efforts, which might urge policymakers to terminate
stay-at-home orders in an effort to reduce family violence and other
social risk factors. Changes may ultimately result in more COVID-related
deaths as stay-at-home orders are prematurely and inappropriately lifted
to prevent purported injuries in the home. Therefore, the widespread
propagation of these claims in the absence of scientific evidence of an
increase has great potential to cause harm.
Key words: Dating violence; family violence; policy; COVID-19