ABSTRACT
The ideal image of family life is one of warmth, affection, and mutual respect. At the same time, it is a sad fact that aggression is widespread in family relationships. Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse of children, intimate partner violence, and elder abuse and neglect are recognised as serious social problems worldwide. In addition, many children are forced to witness aggression and violence in their family. As Gelles (1997, p. 1) stated in the opening sentence of his book, “People are more likely to be killed, physically assaulted, hit, beat up, slapped, or spanked in their own homes by other family members than anywhere else, or by anyone else, in our society.” For example, of the 13 636 homicides reported in the USA in 2009, 4385 victims (32.3%) were killed by a member of their own family (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2009). The rate for Germany, using a broader de¿ nition of family that included cohabitating partners, divorced partners, foster parents, and children, was 43.3% in the same year (Bundeskriminalamt, 2010, p. 61).
