Family Violence

Abstract

Few topics have elicited such public and professional interest in the past two decades as family violence. Although the abuse and neglect of other family members has been with us for centuries, and during that time it has often received tacit societal approval, only recently has the outcry against domestic violence resulted in a significant allocation of resources directed toward intervention and research. The expanded awareness of the extent of maltreatment has also led to a dramatic increase in the reported incidence of abuse and neglect. In turn, the clinical intervention with family violence is no longer a specialty practiced by a few professionals. Rather, family violence is so pervasive that most clinicians will confront it at some point in their careers. Indeed, family violence has been linked with such diverse phenomena as physical trauma, dental injuries, depression, anxiety disorders, conduct problems in children, sexual dysfunctions, and multiple personality disorder (see Ammerman, Cassisi, Hersen, & Van Hasselt, 1986; Ammerman & Hersen, 1990). Moreover, several relatively common conditions are associated with family violence, including substance abuse, poverty, unemployment, and stress (see Burgess & Draper, 1988; Wolfe, 1987). It is evident that every clinician must be familiar with the indicators, etiology, and treatment of intrafamilial abuse and neglect.