Offers practical answers to extraordinarily complex questions raised by abuse. Provides a checklist of warning signs of domestic abuse.

Domestic violence often seems clear-cut, but some forms of abuse are not as easy to identify as physical abuse. Emotional abuse leaves no visible marks, although its effect on a person's psyche can be just as devastating. Understanding abuse is the first step toward ending an abusive relationship. Enlightening charts, annotated quotes from experts, and real-world examples help young adults identify abuse in relationships with romantic partners, close friends, or family members. This knowledge gives them the tools they need to break free of an unhealthy relationship or help a loved one do the same.

A comprehensive and timely resource for students, activists, educators, and advocates, Domestic Violence and Abuse: A Reference Handbook provides a rich and scholarly assessment of this important social issue while also including stories and profiles for a more personal understanding. Domestic Violence and Abuse: A Reference Handbook provides a thorough review of the most recent research about intimate partner violence. Additionally, a historical review provides readers with a sense of how views on domestic violence have changed over time and how different policies and practices have and have not been successful. Appropriate for readers at the high school level and above, the volume focuses on the scope, extent, and characteristics of domestic violence and offers several unique elements, including profiles of significant individuals, personal stories from advocates, activists and survivors, and a review of controversial issues. The volume also includes a chronology of key events, relevant data and documents, primary source data, and recommended resources.

This volume addresses the importance of measuring psychological abuse and shows that psychological aggression can be reliably measured. Part I identifies measurement issues and contains several scales and inventories for measuring psychological maltreatment. Part II discusses the interpersonal dynamics with specific populations, including battered women, low-income women, and African American women. This remains an important resource in the field of domestic violence.

This comprehensive, two-volume work examines domestic abuse in the United States and worldwide, providing research, personal stories, and primary documents that reveal the extent of the problem. An estimated 1,300 to 1,800 Americans are murdered by intimate partners each year. Far from being a problem that only impacts women, domestic violence hurts society as a whole both socially as well as financially, with an estimated direct and indirect cost of nearly $6 billion annually in the United States. This book provides a timely and thorough reference for educators, students, scholars and activists seeking to better understand the global issue of domestic abuse. The entries document the history of the domestic violence prevention movement, provide explanations for abuse, identify warning signs of hidden abuse, describe types of victims and offenders, and supply information on interventions and prevention programs. Written by an array of experts in the field, the book also integrates the personal stories of survivors and addresses abuse as a global issue by covering topics such as acid attacks and female genital mutilation.

Evidence suggests that some forms of domestic crimes are growing at an alarming rate. An epidemic of violence and maltreatment within the home and between intimates exists, often as part of an interrelated cycle: abuse victim becomes violent abuser. This book will be of interest to educators, students and professionals in the fields of child health and welfare, criminal justice, women's studies, gerontology, sociology and related areas. Part I is an introduction on domestic criminality that includes an historical review, demographic studies, and a discussion of medical treatments for victims. Issues such as domestic fatalities, battered women and men, conjugal rape, and abuse of elders are covered in Part II. An examination of child maltreatment by neglect and sexual abuse is discussed in Part III and symptoms of domestic criminality are covered in Part IV. Part V addresses theories, causes, and explanations of domestic violence, attempting to bridge gaps between existing studies. The characteristics of incarcerated domestic criminals are reviewed in Part VI; a discussion of efforts to help victims and decrease the level of domestic violence is provided in Part VII. Notes, suggested additional readings, and a bibliography are included.

Since its initial publication, this far-reaching reference has provided professionals and victims of abuse with guidance on everything from indicators of an abusive relationship to domestic violence legislation, from antiburnout tips for helpers to advice on leaving an abusive partner. This updated edition addresses new research and programs, adding information on date rape drugs, stalking, cyber-stalking, pregnancy and domestic violence, and the effectiveness of batterer intervention programs. Current controversial social and legal issues such as mutual battering, child welfare and "failure to protect" policies, child custody and visitation rights for batterers, mandatory arrests, and welfare reform are also covered. Two new chapters devote attention to domestic violence in the military and to the challenging and rewarding role of those who work with battered women and their children. New resources have been included to reflect the ever-evolving wealth of books, web sites, and agencies available to both helpers and those in need.