Family Violence Across the Lifespan: An Introduction

Click ′Additional Materials′ for downloadable sample chapters

"I think that the authors do a tremendous job of integrating findings from a very large body of research and presenting their analysis in a reader-friendly way. The text is particularly strong in orienting the reader to the research issues, including the current state of knowledge in the area. I have found the text to be very well done and extremely useful in providing students with an introduction to the very broad field of family violence. I have recommended the text to colleagues and students. I applaud the authors for this work and thank them for creating such a comprehensive text."
--Diane Hiebert-Murphy, Faculty of Social Work, University of Manitoba

"This book includes an impressive overview of different types of violence and organizes a large amount of research material to make it accessible to the upper-level undergraduate.  Students will easily follow the organization of topics, themes, and questions, and long chapters include several intermediary summaries, which is good."
--Jean Giles-Sims, Texas Christian University

A thoroughly updated and expanded new edition of the bestseller, Family Violence Across the Lifespan, Second Edition 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 is 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.

Key Features
 
* Boxed inserts focusing on current controversies
* Case studies bring the focus from research and societal analysis down to the individual
* Intermediate chapter summaries provide students a concise synopsis of research-based discussions
* Interviews with experts provide students a glimpse of the variety of research interests, philosophies, and training typical of many of the professionals working in the field
* Discussion questions at the end of each chapter

New to This Edition

* A comprehensive glossary of key terms used in the field
* End-of-chapter sections on social policy and practice issues
* New chapters entitled Child Maltreatment (Chapter 6), Key Issues in the Field of Child Maltreatment (Chapter 7), and What Can I Do to Help? (Chapter 13)
* A new section on the abuse of disabled persons
* Greatly expanded coverage on intimate violence between same sex or unwed partners, along with cross-cultural considerations
* Additional materials available on the Web

Family Violence Across the Lifespan, Second Edition offers a comprehensive and accessibly written introduction that is ideal for use in undergraduate and master′s level courses in family violence, domestic violence, and abuse offered in departments of sociology, psychology, social work, counseling, and criminal justice.

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.

Robin D. Perrin is currently Professor of Sociology at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. His research interests and publications are in the areas of interpersonal 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 D. Ward & T. Carter, 1991), Child Maltreatment: An Introduction (with C. Miller-Perrin, Sage, 1999; 2007), and Family Violence Across the Lifespan (with O. Barnett & C. Miller-Perrin, Sage, 1997, 2005; 2011). He is the author or coauthor of numerous articles on a variety of topics related to religion, deviance, and interpersonal violence. He is the recipient of the 2004 Howard A. White Award for Teaching Excellence. He received his doctorate in sociology from Washington State University in 1989. Following his doctoral studies he was Assistant Professor of Sociology at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington.