Intimate Violence: The Causes and Consequences of Abuse in the American Family

Conventional wisdom holds that the typical child abuser or wife beater is mentally disturbed. Not so, claim Gelles and Straus, sociology professors at the Universities of Rhode Island and New Hampshire, respectively. They seek the roots of domestic violence and sex abuse in the intrinsic inequalities within the family (husbands dominating wives, parents dominating children). Only if we develop a cultural ethic that deems the hitting of children or spouses wrong and inappropriate can this syndrome be defeated, the authors insist and urge the elimination of sexism in the home and workplace. Contrary to popular belief, most abused children do not grow up to become abusive parents, according to the authors. Interweaving case histories and survey results, this study will challenge parents, professionals and care-givers. Psychology Today Book Club alternate. (July)