Background Recent trend studies suggest that marijuana use is on the rise among the general population of adults ages 18 and older in the United States. However, little is known about the trends in marijuana use and marijuana-specific risk/protective factors among American adults during the latter part of adulthood. Method Findings are based on repeated, cross-sectional data collected from late middle-aged (ages 50–64) and older adults (ages 65 and older) surveyed as part of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health between 2002 and 2014. Results The prevalence of past-year marijuana use among late middle-aged adults increased significantly from a low of 2.95% in 2003 to a high of 9.08% in 2014. Similarly, the prevalence of marijuana use increased significantly among older adults from a low of 0.15% in 2003 to a high of 2.04% in 2014. Notably, the upward trends in marijuana use remained significant even when accounting for sociodemographic, substance use, behavioral, and health-related factors. We also found that decreases in marijuana-specific protective factors were associated with the observed trend changes in marijuana use among late middle-aged and older adults, and observed a weakening of the association between late-middle aged marijuana use and risk propensity, other illicit drug use, and criminal justice system involvement over the course of the study. Conclusions Findings from the present study provide robust evidence indicating that marijuana use among older Americans has increased markedly in recent years, with the most evident changes observed between 2008 and 2014.

Nonfatal strangulation is a prevalent, underreported, and dangerous form of intimate partner violence (IPV). It is particularly important to assess for strangulation among abused women as this form of violence may not leave visible injury. The most severe negative physical and mental health consequences of strangulation appear to be dose-related, with those strangled multiple times or to the point of altered consciousness at higher risk of negative sequelae. This research examines the relationship between multiple strangulation, loss of consciousness due to strangulation, and risk of future near-fatal violence to modify the Danger Assessment (DA) and the Danger Assessment for Immigrant women (DA-I), IPV risk assessments intended to predict near-fatal and fatal violence in intimate relationships. Data from one study ( n = 619) were used to modify the DA to include an item on multiple strangulation or loss of consciousness due to strangulation. Data from an independent validation sample ( n = 389) were then used to examine the predictive validity of the updated DA and DA-I. The updated version of the DA predicts near-fatal violence at 7–8 months follow-up significantly better than the original DA. Adding multiple strangulation or loss of consciousness to the DA-I increased the predictive validity slightly, but not significantly. The DA and DA-I are intended to be used as a collaboration between IPV survivors and advocates as tools for education and intervention. Whether or not an IPV survivor has been strangled, she should be educated about the dangerous nature of strangulation and the need for medical intervention should her partner use strangulation against her. This evidence-based adaptation of the DA and DA-I may assist practitioners to assess for and intervene in dangerous IPV cases.

Despite the importance of intimate partner violence (IPV) and homicide research to women's health and safety, much remains unknown about risk factors for intimate partner homicide (IPH). This article presents the Arizona Intimate Partner Homicide Study, pilot research that is being conducted in one U.S. state to update and expand on risk factors for IPH. In the context of presenting this study, we summarize the literature on data collection techniques, various marginalized and under researched populations, and the importance of gathering data about the victim-offender relationship and situational IPH risk factors. Additional research is needed to update risk factors for IPH to account for changes in technology and to examine differential risk across diverse populations. Local, community based data collection strategies are likely to provide more comprehensive and nuanced insight into IPH; though, to understand risk factors among marginalized populations, it may be necessary to increase sample size through a national strategy. Although not a panacea, we present this ongoing research as a model for other states to emulate and improve upon, in the hopes of developing more comprehensive data examining risk for IPH among victims of IPV.Keywords Intimate partner violence . Intimate partner homicide . Risk assessment In the United States, intimate partner homicide (IPH) accounts for one-fifth of homicides overall (Jack et al. 2018). IPH is a gendered crime; approximately 40-50% of murdered women are killed by a current or former intimate partner compared to only 5-8% of male homicide victims (Fridel and Fox 2019;Jack et al. 2018). Although the percent of homicides of men that were committed by an intimate partner decreased by 53% between 1980 and 2008, the percent of homicides of women committed by an intimate partner increased by 5% during this same period (Cooper and Smith 2011). Women with marginalized identities are at particular risk of femicide (the killing of

Intimate partner homicide (IPH) consists primarily of men killing women in the context of intimate partner violence. Researchers have described and identified risk factors associated with IPH; additional comprehensive data collection is needed to better understand IPH risk and to develop risk-informed prevention. Due to structural racism, available interventions within the criminal legal and social service systems may be eschewed by those—such as Black women—who are at the highest risk. Anti-racist research, practice, and policy are key to reducing IPH. Gender and racial equity, combined with fostering relational health leads, ultimately, down the long road to IPH prevention.

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