Psychosocial Dimensions of Family Violence

The common dictionary definition of violence states that this term encompasses the exertion of physical force so as to injure or abuse someone else. The inclusion of “abuse†in the definition is important, because it opens up the issues of force being used to induce negative psychological states and to violate basic human dignity and rights. One type of violence that has received increased attention in recent years is family violence, a deviant or delinquent behavior for which statistics are difficult to compile because it is so heavily underreported. The issue of family violence is an important area of public, political, and academic concern that goes to the heart of the institution of the family and marriage. At the individual level, it involves personal negative attitudes and aggressive behaviors as well as physical and emotional prejudices. There are a number of well-documented predictive factors of family violence, most of them psychological. Several forms of the family violencebased victimization have been described. Direct (as victim) or indirect (as eyewitness) exposure to family violence can have a significant psychological impact on children and adults during their development. For example, infants, school-age children and adolescents who witness violence in their homes are more vulnerable to excessive irritability, immature behaviors, sleep disturbances, emotional distress, fears of being alone, and developmental regression. This paper briefly analyses the causes, types and consequences of family violence.