Perspectives on Intrafamily Violence

Abstract

This research involves a self-report study of youths who were victims, perpetrators, or observers of violence within the family. The sample includes students attending a senior high school, youths referred to a juvenile court but not incarcerated, and youths residing in juvenile institutions. Each young person completed a questionnaire which included demographic data, family functioning information, school data, and questions on the frequency of specific violent occurrences in the family setting during the past year. The research focuses on self-reported violent behavior these youths directed toward significant others and on violent behavior of adults toward those youths and other children in the family. The relationship between levels of family functioning and intrafamily violence was explored. Such occurrences as spouse-to-spouse violence, sibling-to-sibling violence, and child abuse were examined in terms of their relationship to the amount and direction of youth violence. The characteristics of families with high levels of violence are compared with those of families with an absence of or low levels of violent behavior. It was found that the more effectively the family functioned the less likely it was that intrafamily violence would occur. Methods of increasing the level of family functioning through family counseling and crisis intervention are also described.