Family Violence
Summary
·	Facts & Figures
·	Legislation
·	Publications
·	Programs
·	Training & Technical Assistance
·	Grants & Funding
·	Related Resources

Family Violence

“General delinquency research shows that childhood abuse (physical and sexual) is often associated with delinquency and that the early onset of maltreatment may increase the variety, seriousness, and duration of problems. It is also widely suggested that violence begets violence—that today's abused children become tomorrow's violent offenders” (An Update on the Cycle of Violence, National Institute of Justice, 2001).

Summary

Family violence, including child physical and sexual abuse, child neglect and maltreatment, intimate partner violence, and elder abuse, takes place in homes across the country every day. Exposure to such violence has a devastating impact on both children and adults in those households and communities, whether they are direct victims of abuse or witnesses to it. Children exposed to such violence at an early age are likely to become either perpetrators of abuse or victims of violence in adulthood. In May 2000, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) published a report based on data from the 1993-1998 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The NCVS gathers data about crimes using an ongoing, nationally representative sample of households in the United States. This Special Report found that, between 1993 and 1998, the average number of victims of intimate partner violence who lived with children under the age of 12 was 459,590 (Intimate Partner Violence, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000).¹This paints a daunting picture for the future of our children, even if only one child in each of those households is exposed to violence.

In the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) report, The Nurturing Parenting Programs, Dr. Stephen Bavolek writes, "[C]ontemporary social scientists agree that the continued maltreatment of children today is primarily the result of poorly trained adults who, in their roles as parents and caretakers, attempt to instill discipline and educate children within the context of the violence they themselves experienced as children." This and other reports describe the process in which abused children or witnesses to abuse often become violent offenders themselves, a phenomenon called the "cycle of violence." A recent study, sponsored by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and conducted in a metropolitan Midwestern county area, compared the arrest records of 908 abused and/or neglected children, age 11 or younger at the time of abuse/neglect, with arrest records for 667 children who were not abused or maltreated. Initial results were gathered in 1988 and additional arrest data was gathered in 1994. The study found that "being abused or neglected as a child increased the likelihood of arrest as a juvenile by 59 percent, as an adult by 28 percent, and for a violent crime by 30 percent" (An Update on the Cycle of Violence, National Institute of Justice, 2001).

Additionally, children who do not become offenders or victims may face great obstacles in emotional, mental, and physical development. These obstacles include attention deficits, educational difficulties, substance abuse, mental health problems, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and lack of appropriate social skills (Safe From the Start: Taking Action on Children Exposed to Violence, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2000).

Another aspect of family violence includes the crime of elder abuse. In 2004, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program conducted a study on violence among family members and intimate partners. The data for this study came from the UCR Program's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) database. The findings report that 444 elderly relatives were the victims of murder/nonnegligent manslaughter between 1996 and 2001 (Crime in the United States, 2003, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2004).

The following resources provide a glimpse of available research on child abuse and domestic violence, elder abuse, and prevention and intervention programs that focus on family therapy.

¹A more recent, but limited, report on intimate partner violence, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001 is available from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).

This topical resource on Family Violence contains the following information:

Facts and Figures – Includes the latest information and statistics.
Legislation – A sample of links to online Federal and State legislation and testimony.
Publications – A sample of available resources.
Programs – Examples of State and local programs and initiatives available online.
Training and Technical Assistance – A sample of training and technical assistance opportunities available through nationally recognized agencies and associations.
Grants and Funding – Links to Federal funding opportunities.
Related Resources – Examples of nationally recognized agencies and organizations that provide services or information.

Links from the NCJRS Web site to non-Federal sites do not constitute an endorsement by NCJRS or its sponsors. NCJRS is not responsible for the content or privacy policy of any off-site pages that are referenced, nor does NCJRS guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or correct sequencing of information. NCJRS is also not responsible for the use of, or results obtained from the use of, the information. It is the responsibility of the user to evaluate the content and usefulness of information obtained from non-Federal sites.