Asking the Right Questions About the Future of Marital Violence Research (From Family Violence: Research and Public Policy Issues, P 93-107, 1990, Douglas J Besharov, ed. -- See NCJ-125593)

• NCJ Number: 125600
• Author(s): S A Lloyd
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 15 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation
• Sale Source: University Press of America
• Publication Type: Report (Technical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This analysis of research on marital violence concludes that questions about violence in marriage need to be reformulated to recognize that violence does not necessarily lead to the end of the marriage.

Abstract

The studies showing that more than half of battered wives return to their husbands indicate that professionals should offer multiple options to both victims and perpetrators and should not decide that termination of the relationship is the only solution. To close the gap between research and questions, five broad topics should be examined: (1) how distressed marriages differ from violent marriages; (2) how multiple patterns of violence may be identified; (3) why some children with violent backgrounds fail to become violent adults; (4) whether the level of violence within a particular couple changes over time; and (5) how the dynamics of the violent marriage may be described. Without knowledge regarding these issues, prevention and treatment efforts will be hampered.