One commonality among forms of family abuse is the power dynamics of the situations. Abuse is commonly perpetrated by those whose status in the family or physical stature gives them power over their victims; however, although abuse comes from a power position in the family, abusive behavior commonly is rooted in a perceived lack of or loss of power. Another common factor in all family abuse is the impact it has on victims. Victims are commonly conditioned to accept their abuse as either being normal or due to their own failures. Victims also commonly maintain an allegiance to their abusers and manifest an inability to take action that will break the cycle of abuse. Common long-term victim symptoms are depression, suicidal feelings, self-contempt, and an inability to trust and develop intimate relationships in later life. Also, all forms of abuse appear to be more common in families where unemployment and economic deprivation are serious problems. Abuse also tends to occur in families that are patriarchal and have few social ties outside the family. Another common feature of family abuse is the emergence of each type of abuse as a social problem from historical contexts where they had been minimized in the belief they did not occur frequently. Some differences among forms of abuse are the age and status of victims, the kinds of support groups targeting each type of abuse, and institutional responses. Differences in the area of research include specialization by discipline and divergences in research methodologies. Twenty-nine references are provided.