ABSTRACT
In this chapter, special attention is given to domestic violence. Domestic violence is particularly important to look at within the context of the DTD conceptualization network because it frequently impacts children’s primary adult relationship models. Moreover, domestic violence is relevant to all levels of Bronfenbrenner’s framework. According to recent data from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), over 10 million people per year are affected by domestic violence, also known as Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Women victimized by IPV are likely abused by men who use power and control to provoke fear in them and their children, and this pattern of behavior is inextricably linked to gender and cultural norms (i.e., coercive control of women), social justice and law, and generational transmission of violence and trauma. In cases where men exert financial and psychological control, women and children may become helpless and express a broad range of psychopathology without support, including from institutions designed to protect them.
