A thoroughly updated and expanded new edition, Family Violence Across the Lifespan, helps students achieve a deeper understanding of the methodology, etiology, prevalence, treatment, and prevention of family violence. Research from experts in the fields of psychology, sociology, criminology, and social welfare are woven together to provide broad coverage of current viewpoints and debates within the field of domestic violence study. Practice and policy considerations provide new and welcome perspectives, and in addition, informal interviews with leading authorities in the field of violence add depth and clarity to the topics. Organized chronologically, chapters cover child physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; courtship violence and date rape; spouse abuse, battered women, and batterers; and elder abuse.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CHAPTER 1 - HISTORY AND DEFINITIONS OF FAMILY VIOLENCE Violence in Families Why are Families Violent? Discovering Family Violence: How Social Conditions Become Social Problems Defining Family Violence: Understanding the Social Construction of Deviance Definitions Introducing Issues in Practice, Policy and Prevention Summary Goals of the Book Discussion Questions Recommended Readings CHAPTER 2 - RESEARCH METHODOLOGY, ASSESSMENT, AND THEORIES: INVESTIGATING THE PROBLEM OF FAMILY VIOLENCE Introduction Case History #2A: Juanita's Broken Heart and Broken Body Studying Family Violence: A Multidisciplinary Effort Theoretical Explanations of Family Violence Methodology: How Researchers Try To Answer Questions about Family Violence Practice, Policy, and Prevention Issues Discussion Questions Suggested Readings CHAPTER 3: CHILD PHYSICAL ABUSE Chapter Outline Introduction Case History: Kevin Fell Off of His Razor Scope of the Problem Chapter Summary Searching For Patterns: Characteristics of Victims and Perpetrators Consequences Associated With Child Physical Abuse Practice, Policy, and Prevention Issues Summary Discussion Questions Recommended Reading CHAPTER 4: CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE Chapter Outline Introduction Case History: Sashim's Secret Scope of the Problem Searching For Patterns: Characteristics of Victims and Perpetrators Dynamics and Consequences Associated With Sexual Abuse Explaining Child Sexual Abuse Practice, Policy, and Prevention Issues Summary Discussion Questions Recommended Reading CHAPTER 5: CHILD NEGLECT Chapter Outline Introduction Case History: Will and Mark: "Where Are the Parents?" Scope of the Problem Searching For Patterns: Characteristics of Children, Parents, and Families of Neglect Consequences Associated With Child Neglect Practice, Policy, and Prevention Issues Summary Discussion Questions Recommended Reading CHAPTER 6: CHILD PSYCHOLOGICAL MALTREATMENT Chapter Outline Introduction Case History: Tough Love or Psychological Maltreatment? Scope of the Problem Searching For Patterns: Characteristics of Victims and Perpetrators Section Summary Consequences Associated With Psychological Maltreatment Practice, Policy, and Prevention Issues Summary Discussion Questions Recommended Readings Explaining Child Physical Abuse CHAPTER 7: KEY ISSUES IN THE FIELD OF CHILD MALTREATMENT Chapter Outline Introduction The Criminal Justice System Response to Child Maltreatment Cultural and International Issues in Child Maltreatment Additional Forms of Child Maltreatment Collateral Effects of Child Maltreatment Unifying The Field Of Child Maltreatment Summary Discussion Questions Recommended Reading CHAPTER 8: DATING VIOLENCE, STALKING, AND SEXUAL ASSAULT Case History #8a: Ivana and Bruce - Teaching Her a Lesson Introduction Scope of the Problem Searching For Patterns: Characteristics of Perpetrators and Victims of Dating Violence, Stalking, and Sexual Assault Explaining Dating Violence, Stalking, and Sexual Assault Practice, Policy, and Prevention Issues Chapter Summary Discussion Questions Recommended Readings CHAPTER 9: INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE (IPV) IN ADULT RELATIONSHIPS Case History #9A: Kree Kirkman: Getting Even With the Woman You No Longer Love Introduction Scope of the Problem Outcomes of Intimate Partner Violence Explaining Intimate Personal Violence Practice, Policy, and Prevention Issues Chapter Summary Discussion Questions Recommended Readings CHAPTER 10: INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE: ABUSED PARTNERS Case History #10A: Lisa-Staying for Better or Worse Introduction Blaming Battered Victims Consequences of Being a Battered Woman Remaining with an Abuser Practice, Policy, and Prevention Chapter Summary Discussion Questions Recommended Reading CHAPTER 11: INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE: ABUSIVE PARTNERS Case History #11A: Ari and Bernadette - When a Little Slap is a Knock-Out Punch Introduction Descriptions of Batterers Becoming and Remaining a Batterer Practice, Policy, and Prevention Issues Chapter Summary Discussion Questions Recommended Reading CHAPTER 12: ABUSE OF ELDERS AND THE DISABLED Case History #12A: Jenny and Jeff Jr. - "Dwindling Assets, Dwindling Devotion" Introduction Scope of the Problem Searching For Patterns: Who Is Abused And Who Are The Abusers? Explaining Abuse of Elders and the Disabled Practice, Policy, and Prevention Issues Chapter Summary Discussion Questions Recommended Reading CHAPTER 13 - WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP? Introduction Condemning Culturally Accepted Violence Advocating for a Public Policy Commitment to Preventing Family Violence Joining, Giving, and Volunteering Summary

Author Biography

Ola W. Barnett is a Distinguished Professor Emerita of Psychology at Pepperdine University, Malibu, California. She earned her undergraduate and doctoral degrees in Psychology at UCLA, specializing in Learning. Her initial research centered on batterers, and she later studied battered women and dating violence. She has coauthored two best-selling Sage books (with Alyce D. LaViolette) on why battered women stay with abusive partners. These books provide a scientific explanation, grounded in learning theory, for understanding the obstacles battered women face in trying to break free. She remains active in the field of family violence by reviewing articles for a large number of journals and performing as an external grant reviewer for a few organizations. She serves on the editorial board of the new journal, Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice. She also continues research on the impact of transitional housing on the lives of battered women. Cindy received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Washington State University and is currently Associate Professor in the Psychology Department at Pepperdine University. Her research areas include child-clinical psychology, development, and medical/health psychology. She has widely published in the areas of child sexual abuse, prevention, and physiological psychology. She is the Treasurer. APA Division 37, Section on Child Maltreatment, 2000-2003. She and Robin Perrin co-authored Child Maltreatment:An Introduction (Sage, 1999) and with S. Wurtele co-authored Preventing Child Sexual Abuse: Sharing the Responsibility (U. of Nebraska Press, 1992). Robin Perrin received his doctorate in sociology from Washington State University in 1989. Following his doctoral studies he was an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington. Currently he is Professor of Sociology at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Perrin's research interests and publications are in the areas of family violence, deviance theory, the social construction of social problems, and the sociology of religion. He is the coauthor of three books; Social Deviance: Being, Behaving, and Branding (with David Ward and Tim Carter, Allyn and Bacon, 1991), Child Maltreatment: An Introduction (with Cindy Miller-Perrin, Sage, 1999), and Family Violence Across the Lifespan (with Ola Barnett and Cindy Miller-Perrin, Sage, 1997, 2005). He is also the author or coauthor of numerous articles on a variety of topics including the Satanism scare, the growth of conservative churches, the relationship between religious commitment and honesty, and religion as deviant behavior. Perrin teaches Introduction to Sociology, Introductory Statistics, Deviant Behavior and Social Control, and Sociology of Religion and is the recipient of the 2004 Howard A. White Award for Teaching Excellence.