Examines public attitudes toward parental discipline practices, incidences of parental practices, the public's support for and involvement in child abuse prevention efforts, and the public's perceptions of causes of child maltreatment. Found that most persons view physical punishment and repeated yelling and swearing at children as harmful.…

This paper presents the data from a national survey of family violence and suggests that the roots of family violence lie in the organization of the family and in implicit cultural norms tolerating or approving violence as a means for social control. (Author/EB)

Examines the extent of violence toward parents by adolescent children in relation to: (1) sex and age of the child; (2) the likelihood that mothers, more than fathers, are victims of children's violence; (3) social factors that may influence child to parent violence; and (4) stress as a factor in family violence. (Author/MJL)

Whereas research in the 60s tended to view domestic violence as rare and confined to mentally disturbed and/or poor people, research in the 70s revealed family violence as an extensive phenomenon which could not be explained solely as a consequence of psychological factors or income. (Author)

Reports on the impact of the Minneapolis (Minnesota) Police Experiment, which indicated that a policy of mandatory or presumptive arrest was a deterrent to domestic violence. Discusses how police departments began to adopt this approach. Recommends that arrest be one of several control methods used in domestic violence cases. (CFR)

Discusses problems of definition of elderly abuse. Examines data and research on the rates of elderly abuse and factors found related to elderly abuse. Critiques theories developed to explain the abuse of the elderly. Presents recommendations for research and practice. (RC)

Considers whether research on family violence can be applied to clinical practice. Suggests limitations of the knowledge base constrain the application of research on family violence to clinical work, and certain aspects of the research paradigm also limit the transfer of research knowledge to clinical practice. (Author)