ale perpetrator, and have researched the effects on men, women, and the invisible victims of domestic violence: the children. Unfortunately, despite all that has been learned, domestic violence is still prevalent in today's society. The question is why? In an attempt to answer this question, this paper will present and discuss many of the theories of domestic abuse that have transpired as a result of years of research. Additionally, the emotional, psychological, and behavioral impact on the female victim and her children will be presented through the empirical evidence. Third, this paper will also present approaches to intervention strategies used with family members involved in violence. Finally, this paper will hypothesize, based upon the research, why, in today's society, does domestic violence still exist? Definition & Description Domestic violence is defined as the physical or emotional abuse of an adult or child by a family member or friend. Physical abuse includes pushing, slapping, or grabbing, throwing objects, kicking, biting or punching, beating up, raping or sexually exploiting an adult or child and/or threatening with a weapon. Emotional abuse includes name calling, making jokes that are demeaning, verbally threatening physical abuse, isolating or unreasonably confining an adult or child, and/or the repeated humiliation of an adult or child (Woman Aware [Brochure]). A person of any age or sex may be a victim of domestic violence. However, according to statistics, the majority of victims are women, children, and the dependent elderly (Woman Aware [Brochure]). Additionally, although there are many reported instances and services available to men who are victims and to those in gay, lesbian, and bisexual relationships, this paper will focus on the majority; that is the male perpetrator and the woman victim. Literature Review Etiology of Domestic Violence Due to the complexity of family violence with its many forms, there has been a number of etiological models that have developed over the years (Kashani & Allen, 1998). The following is a description of some of these frameworks for which the understanding of domestic violence has been based on. Psychoanalytic Theory stems from the belief that individual personality traits which develop early in life, predicts the probability that a person will be a victim of or submit to violence. These characteristics can and have been reported as psychiatric diagnosises. For example, a common abuse scenario could be explained through the diagnosis of "dependant/self-defeating personality disorder." That is, a woman who tolerates an abusive relationship may exhibit one or all of the following behaviors: a pattern of self-defeating behavior such as choosing people and situations that ultimately lead to failure. She may reject the help of others and respond in negative ways. The reaction of others will then be a source of hurt for the individual. Furthermore, the woman may not follow through with actions that are crucial to her ability to obtain her goals. Therefore, with respect to this theory, it would then seem that the woman possesses an inborn personality trait that may predispose her to tolerate an abusive relationship (Harway, 1998). Sociobiological theories focus on the work of Darwin and notion that the physical characteristics and behaviors of species develop over time through the process of natural selection (Rowe, 1994). According to Kashani and Allan (1998), since behaviors that help one's offspring to survive are considered functional, parents are expected to invest more resources in one of their own children than in a non-relative child. Sociobiological theorists would explain that the function of marital violence can be found in the potential purpose of coercive control in marriages which can be viewed as being motivated by the male need to guarantee his paternity by ensuring compliance through power and control (Kashani & Allan, 1998). This could imply that the husband

Some topics in this essay:
PCADV Manual, Pence Paymar, Summary Conclusions, Resiliency Resiliency, Chain Video, Control Wheel, Gender/Age Studies, Wolfe Wilson, Psychoanalytic Theory, Kashani Allan, domestic violence, et al, pence paymar, power control, pcadv manual, manual 1998, battered women, pcadv manual 1998, harway 1993, harway 1998, kashani allan 1998, allan 1998, peled et al, et al 1995, et al 1997,