Answer: Domestic Violence in the 1970s

I wasn't able to find the exact article that you were looking for. There is one article that talks about research in that area in the 1970s. Below the article citation, I've listed places that you can find the original data.

The article citation is:

"Violence in the Family: A Review of Research in the Seventies." Gelles, Richard J. Journal of Marriage & Family; Nov80, Vol. 42 Issue 4, p873, 13p, 2 charts
http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=5274385

Most studies that look at murders and deaths due to domestic violence use the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports as their source.

Data from the Uniform Crime Reports [United States] Supplementary Homicide Reports 1976 to 1999 is available on the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data. You need SAS in order to view or search the files.

The website is:
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/NACJD-SDA/03180.xml

For other years and a print copy, look at the individual years of the Uniform Crime Reports. There is a table in the Murder and Non-negligent Manslaughter section that will tell you the circumstances of death by relationship. The categories are husband, wife, father, mother, daughter, son, boyfriend, girlfriend, etc. The table only gives percentages, but the number of murders that year is given to you at the beginning of that section.

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