FAMILY VIOLENCE HAS BEEN PRESENT FROM COLONIAL TIMES TO THE PRESENT, BUT HAS ONLY RECENTLY BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED AS A SOCIAL PROBLEM INSTEAD OF THE BEHAVIOR OF A FEW DISTURBED ABNORMAL INDIVIDUALS. FAMILY VIOLENCE INCLUDING MARITAL VIOLENCE, PARENT-CHILD VIOLENCE, AND SIBLING VIOLENCE, AFFECTS ALL SOCIOECONOMIC GROUPS. TWO TYPES OF FAMILY VIOLENCE (SIBLING VIOLENCE AND CORPORAL PUNISHMENT) ARE GENERALLY CONSIDERED NORMAL BY U.S. SOCIETY. THE COST OF FAMILY VIOLENCE GOES BEYOND THE DESTRUCTION FACED BY INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR FAMILIES. IT EXTENDS TO RAPE, MURDER, POLITICAL ASSASSINATION, SEVERE MENTAL DISORDERS, AND SUICIDE. RESEARCH HAS EXAMINED NUMEROUS FACTORS (PSYCHIATRIC CONDITIONS, SOCIAL CLASS, PREGNANCY, ALCOHOL, SEX, UNEMPLOYMENT, JOB DISSATISFACTION, SOCIAL ISOLATION, PREMATURITY, MENTAL RETARDATION, AND PHYSICAL HANDICAPS) AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO FAMILY VIOLENCE. GELLES AND STRAUS HAVE DIVIDED 15 THEORIES OF FAMILY VIOLENCE INTO THREE GROUPS DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF FUNDAMENTAL CAUSAL FACTOR (INTRAINDIVIDUAL, SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR SOCIOCULTURAL). THEY HAVE INTEGRATED THESE THEORIES USING SOCIAL LEARNING AND SYMBOLIC INTERACTION THEORIES. ANOTHER APPROACH INTEGRATES SYMBOLIC INTERACTION, SOCIAL LEARNING, RESOURCE, AND CONFLICT THEORIES. THREE MAJOR TREATMENT MODALITIES FOR CHILD-ABUSING FAMILIES INCLUDE THE PSYCHIATRIC APPROACH, THE SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH, AND THE SOCIAL-SITUATIONAL APPROACH. TREATMENT PROGRAMS FOR BATTERED WOMEN HAVE BEEN LIMITED TO CRISIS LINES, POLICE DOMESTIC INTERVENTION TEAMS, AND SHELTERS. SEVERAL AUTHORS HAVE DEVELOPED CHECKLISTS TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL ABUSING SPOUSES OR ABUSING PARENTS. ALTHOUGH LAWS CONCERNING FAMILY VIOLENCE ARE BEING CONSIDERED, THE PROBLEM CAN ONLY BE REDUCED IF SOCIETY ALTERS ITS ATTITUDES TOWARD THE MORALITY OF FAMILY VIOLENCE. TABLES, REFERENCE NOTES, AND AN EXTENSIVE REFERENCE LIST ARE PROVIDED. (CFW)