Clinical assessment of intrafamilial violence

A common problem in clinical practice with cases of intrafamilial violence is incomplete assessments and, therefore, treatment interventions based on incomplete data. The problem is not surprising since the literature in the field is complex, multidisciplinary, unintegrated, and rarely comprehensive. In this article the author integrates theory and research on violence in families into five areas that need to be evaluated for a complete clinical assessment. Those five areas include physiological-medical factors, individual psychological factors, current interpersonal-familial factors, cultural and family-background factors, and level of life stress and available resources. Those factors must also be considered when a method of intervention is selected. In the article following this one, the author outlines stages of intervention in cases of intrafamilial violence.