ABSTRACT
Although we prefer not to think about it, family violence is a remarkably common occurrence. The statistics reported later in this chapter reveal that between 0.5% and 10% of the children and 16% of the parents or parent-surrogates in the United States experience violence at the hands of intimates every year (Frieze & Browne, 1989; Straus & Gelles, 1990). Some children and adults are victimized year after year, whereas isolated incidents may characterize other families, making it difficult to estimate exactly how many children are exposed to some form of family violence at any time during their childhoods. Clearly, however, the numbers are considerable.
