Intimate Violence in Families

This is a valueable book but it's also one of the most widely-misinterpreted ones in recent memory. For starters: the infamous half and half quote, wherein Gelles reports that men and women are injured in roughly equal numbers. This omits several facts: that women are being injured far more severely as a result of the size differential between women and their partners; that women are defending themselves in these attacks, and that sexual assault---which is overwhelmingly a feature of amle abuse of women---was deliberately ommitted from the count of violent activities that Gelles counts. Gelles invented something called the Conflict Tactics Violence Scale, which needs to be noted in research about domestic violence. It counts acts alone, and strips them of their context. Thus, a man like OJ Simpson, who beat his wife Nicole repeatedly during their marriage, would be considered a victim of his wife if she defended herself---despite the fact that he was the aggressor, she the defender, and that he outweighed her by dozens of pounds. That said, this is a valueable book, and it's useful to read to see how often it's either mis- or selectively quoted by conservative pundits.

Richard Gelles is a pioneer in the examination of family violence, and this excellent 1997 text (an update of the 1990 edition) provides a detailed and critical analysis of the existing literature. Although much has been published in the area since 1997, this text continues to be worthwhile. The book focuses primarily on physical violence. Issues such as basic statistics and the societal influence of family violence are explored. One of the most interesting sections discusses the prevalence and nature of intrafamilial violence across cultures. Child mental health professionals will likely benefit most from the sections on child victims of family violence and sibling violence; the latter of which is often ignored in books of this type. One of the final chapters explores relevant treatment issues; however the emphasis is on legal and programmatic approaches, such as arrest of the perpetrator. Individual treatment of persons who experience family violence are not considered in detail. Most of the information provided is based on hard empirical data; however, Gelles's extensive experience allows him to include rich anecdotal evidence. As a result, the book is highly readable and provocative. Overall, the book is remarkable -- a concise text that explores fully a multitude of issues. The book will be most appreciated by persons in research or academics, although mental health professionals will likely find it useful as well. Finally, the text could be ideal for use in graduate classes, with 'Discussion Questions' and 'Suggested Assignments' at the end of chapters. Highly recommended.