Violence Among Intimates: An Epidemilogical Review (From Handbook of Family Violence, P 293-317, 1988, Vincent B Van Hasselt, et al, eds. -- See NCJ-113381)

• NCJ Number: 113393
• Author(s): E Stark; A Flitcraft
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 25 pages
• Sale Source: Plenum Press
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper describes how domestic violence is distributed in various populations, identifies its demographic features, and distinguishes its etiology by comparing violent with nonviolent groups.

Abstract

This study reports on findings from research that bears on acts of physical force among adult social partners regardless of their marital or domiciliary status. This includes spouse abuse; violence against children emanating from spousal violence; and violence against single, divorced, and separated women. The material summarized in this study was selected on the basis of the degree to which a study design identified characteristics specific to domestic violence in a given population or permits generalization to the total universe of battered women. Findings of the studies reviewed pertain to the incidence, prevalence, frequency, severity, and sequelae of abuse; medical and mental health consequences; and personality, demographic, and vulnerability factors. The epidemiological evidence supports some aspects of the stress/pathology paradigm. There is no consistent evidence that battered women share a common personality profile, and evidence that batterers have a distinguishing personality profile is equally weak. Data on intergenerational transmission do not support the cycle of violence theory as an explanation of woman battering or child abuse. 113 references.