NCJ Number
168560
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: September 1997 Pages: 293-311
Date Published
1997
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Estimates of the prevalence of marital violence have been found to vary dramatically from survey to survey; this paper addresses one possible explanation for this difference that involves the focus and format of various surveys.
Abstract
The authors examined the extent to which survey respondents are willing to report marital violence in a context that focuses on criminal behaviors as opposed to a family-violence context. In a basic way, this answers a question as to whether individuals are willing to define acts of marital violence as criminal. Methodologically, it is a measurement issue that seriously affects the ability to compare findings across samples. National Youth Survey data were used to compare rates of generalized spousal assault and victimization reported in a crime context, with rates of marital assault and victimization reported in a family violence context. Results show that 40 percent to 83 percent of all marital assaults and victimizations reported in the marital violence section are not reported in a format that focuses on criminal assault and victimization. 5 tables and 30 references