NCJ Number
83006
Date Published
1982
Length
35 pages
Annotation
The paper examines the lack of a criminal violence perspective regarding domestic violence, the extent of family violence, factors associated with it, and theories of intrafamily violence.
Abstract
The lack of a criminal violence perspective is evidence of the way the issue of domestic violence is defined, the response of agencies of social control and social service, and the approach used by social scientists in studying the phenomenon. Although violence was largely kept hidden from public view, resulting in a general lack of awareness of its seriousness and extent, there were data suggesting the family was far more violent than the public or professionals realized. Data indicate that physical punishment is used by 84-97 percent of all parents; that intrafamilial homicide accounts for between 20-40 percent of all homicides; and that incidences of child abuse, assault, marital violence, and spouse abuse are growing. Violence is associated with gender, child abuse, socioeconomic status, race, stress, and social isolation. Family violence has been approached from three general theoretical levels of analyses: (1) the intraindividual level or the psychiatric model, (2) the social-psychological level, and (3) the sociological or sociocultural level. Five additional theories of family violence have been proposed recently. They are the resource theory, the general systems theory, the ecological perspective, the evolutionary perspective, and the patriarchy and wife abuse approach. Each of these theories is briefly reviewed, and perspectives of future theoretical work on family violence are offered. A few tables, a note, and over 100 references are supplied.