Family violence: impact on children

Violence within the family is increasingly being recognized as a serious societal problem in the United States. Four types of family violence are discussed: violence toward children, siblings, women, and the elderly. This paper explores the development of violent relationships in the family from both biological and psychological perspectives, with the latter encompassing four frameworks--the psychopathological model, the social learning model, the aversively stimulated aggression concept, and systems theory. The authors also examine the risk factors for and the effects of violence as well as the characteristics of the aggressor and the victim. Available intervention strategies for various types of violent behavior are then discussed.