ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the analysis of violence to the structure of the family–to what characteristics of the family as a unit tend to contribute to violence. The largest families may be the least violent for a number of reasons. The pattern found for child abuse held up with even more precision for violence between husbands and wives. If the cause were economic stress, then high income families would be better able to cope with two children than low income families. The child becomes a victim of marital power struggles when parents resort to child abuse to legitimize their power or compensate for a lack of power. The highest risk of family violence occurs when there is more than one child at home, where there is considerable life stress experienced by one or both of the marital partners, and where decision-making is concentrated in the hands of one person.
