Archive Report
Archive Report
Concern Over Domestic Violence
Severity of Child, Spouse Abuse Problem
The image of the family as a refuge from the strains and stresses of the outside world is one most Americans hold dear. Our unwillingness to abandon this idealized picture of family life, despite rising divorce rates and other signs of family discord,1 is perhaps an indication that the American family is here to stay. This optimistic assessment of the future of the family draws general agreement. But there also seems to be a growing recognition that this idyllic concept of family life has contributed to the conspiracy of silence that, until very recently, surrounded the problem of violence in the family.
Evidence of violent confrontations among family members, especially extreme cases of child abuse and neglect, ...