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Issues and Controversies in Documenting the Prevalence of Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence (From Domestic Violence in the Lives of Children: The Future of Research, Intervention, and Social Policy, P 13-34, 2001, Sandra A. Graham-Bermann and Jeffrey L. Edleson, eds. -- See NCJ-190013)

NCJ Number
190014
Author(s)
Ernest N. Jouriles; Renee McDonald; William D. Norwood; Elizabeth Ezell
Date Published
2001
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This chapter focuses on problems associated with documenting the incidence and prevalence of children’s exposure to adult domestic violence, the associated issues and controversies, and current estimates of the numbers of children exposed to domestic violence.
Abstract
Two distinctive violence constructs include violence between intimates regardless of the perpetrator and violence toward women by a male intimate partner. Another issue is the breadth of the definition of violence in terms of the types and frequency of the acts involved. Another conceptual issue that has received little attention is the distinction between marital conflict and the concepts of marital violence and wife abuse. Further issues are that many couples are domestically violent at certain stages of their issue and the meaning of the term exposure to violence. The measurement of violence is less controversial, but it is still complex. Individuals are often reluctant to disclose violent experiences, spouses often do not agree with each other about the occurrence of violence or whether children in the family have seen or heard it, and it is unclear how accurately children can report on violence. Results of four national surveys demonstrate the complexity of estimating the numbers of children exposed to wife abuse or marital violence during a given time period. Future research and discussions of policy and practice need clarification of concepts and definitions, consideration of violence in combination with other factors, information on ethnicity and domestic violence, and analyses of special populations. 67 references