Family Violence in the United States

Denise A. Hines, Ph.D., is a Research Associate Professor in the Psychology Department at Clark University, where she is also the Director of the Family Impact Seminar Series and the Co-Director of the Clark Anti-Violence Education Program. She completed her doctoral degree in Psychology at Boston University, and then spent two years as an NIMH postdoctoral research fellow at the University of New Hampshire's Family Research Laboratory with Drs. Murray Straus and David Finkelhor. She is the author or co-author of over 30 articles or book chapters, and two books on issues of family violence, both published by Sage. She has also been the principal investigator on five major grants, focusing on issues of the etiology of partner violence; prevention of dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on college campuses; and the mental and physical health of male victims of partner violence and their children.

Family aggression - whether in form of physical violence or verbal abuse - has touched most of us in our lifetime. Most of us have witnessed it, experienced it, or used it at one point or another. In order for us to eliminate aggressive and abusive behaviors from relationships, we must be willing to confront our own experiences with these behaviors.

Preface and Acknowledgments1. Issues in the Definition of Family Violence and Abuse Definitional Issues Ecological Models of Maltreatment Summary 2. Cultural Contexts of Family Violence The Contemporary Context The Broader Ecological Context Summary 3. Cultural Contexts: Religion Religion in the United States Religious Affiliation and Religious Conservatism as Risk Factors for Family Violence Positive Roles of Religion and Religiosity The Response of Religious Institutions to Spousal Abuse Summary 4. Child Physical Abuse Scope of the Problem Predictors and Correlates Consequences Prevention and Intervention Summary 5. Child Sexual Abuse Scope of the Problem Predictors and Correlates Consequences Prevention and Intervention Summary 6. Child Neglect and Psychological Maltreatment Neglect Psychological Maltreatment Summary 7. Wife Abuse Physical Maltreatment Psychological Maltreatment Sexual Abuse Prevention and Intervention Summary 8. Husband Abuse Physical Abuse Psychological Maltreatment Prevention and Intervention Summary 9. Abuse in Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender Relationships Scope of the Problem Predictors and Correlates Consequences Prevention and Intervention Summary 10. Elder Abuse Scope of the Problem Predictors and Correlates Consequences Prevention and Intervention Summary 11. Hidden Types of Family Violence: Abuse of Siblings, Parents, and People With Disabilities Sibling Abuse Parent Abuse Abuse of Family Members With Disabilities Summary 12. Responding Effectively to Family Violence Responding to Child Maltreatment The Response to Wife Abuse Husband Abuse and the Criminal Justice System Maltreated Elders in the Criminal Justice System Summary References Author IndexSubject IndexAbout the Authors