The author presents a brief historical review of the development of family violence research; by now, the term has become synonymous with a broad concept of maltreatment that includes harmful, but not necessarily physically violent, acts. Data on child abuse, wife abuse, and family violence are obtained from three primary sources, including clinical samples, official reports, and social surveys. Family violence has been approached from three general theoretical levels of analysis: the intraindividual level or psychiatric model, the social-psychological level, and the sociological or sociocultural level. Six theories of family violence which are outlined here include the general systems theory, resource theory, ecological perspective, sociobiology theory, exchange/social control theory, and patriarchal theory of wife abuse. Controversies in the field of family violence revolve around issues of abused husbands, the intergenerational transmission of violence, overreporting of child abuse, the battered woman syndrome, the effectiveness of child abuse prevention programs, and the efficacy of mandatory arrest for wife abusers. 2 notes and 74 references