Domestic Violence Prevention

Abstract

Domestic violence, which includes physical, sexual, and psychological violence toward a current or former partner, is a pervasive global public health issue that leads to a number of deleterious consequences to victims and costs to society. Thus, the primary prevention of domestic violence is critical, and prevention is most effective when it begins early in life (i.e., in childhood) and extends throughout the life course. Theories regarding the causes of domestic violence and associated risk (e.g., substance use) and protective (e.g., social and community supports) factors for perpetration are critical to inform prevention efforts. However, prevention initiatives often lack strong theoretical and empirical grounding. Nevertheless, there are several theoretically driven and empirically based domestic violence primary prevention programs with adolescents and young adults that have demonstrated promising findings (e.g., long-term reductions in domestic violence, increases in bystander action in situations of domestic violence). There is also a growing understanding of the factors that make domestic violence prevention efforts most effective, including programs that are developmentally and culturally appropriate to the target audience and provide sufficient dosage and intensity. Despite these successes, a number of issues (e.g., sustainability of evidence-based prevention and policy efforts across the life span; increased collaboration among researchers, practitioners, educations, and policymakers) must be addressed in order to substantially decrease, if not eradicate, domestic violence from our society.