2. Chapter Objectives
Discuss the value of research to understanding family violence.
Explain the historical significance of the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment.
Explain the difference between quantitative and qualitative research.
Identify the major sources of data on family violence.
Explain the three major schools of theory and some of the varied approaches that attempt to explain intimate partner violence.

3. Research
Research is important because it offers a way to reconcile our personal reality with experiential reality.
Documenting research provides opportunities to replicate studies in order to help avoid overgeneralization, selective observation, and illogical reasoning.
One way in which we try to understand family violence is by measuring it.
Studies on agency response and personal responsibility help shape our organizations and provide funds.

4. Applied Research
Crime is a social problem that may be better understood and addressed through scientific inquiry.
Pure research is conducted for the sake of knowledge, whereas applied research centers around problems affecting people from a practical standpoint.
The first national study of intimate partner violence, Behind Closed Doors, reported that spouses strike partners in one of every six households (1980).
(Straus, Gelles, & Steinmetz, 1980)

5. MDVE
The first controlled, randomized test of the effectiveness of arrest for intimate partner violence occurred in the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment (1980).
The study assessed the effects of various police responses, including arrest, and suggested that the arrest of the perpetrator produced the least amount of repeat violence for the same victims within a six-month period.
(Sherman & Berk, 1984)

6. MDVE
Subsequent violence was reduced by nearly 50% when the suspect was arrested, as opposed to other interventions.
(Sherman & Berk, 1984)

7. Thurman v. City of Torrington
In Thurman v. City of Torrington (1984), the court determined that the victim of domestic violence had been denied equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment when police failed to protect her from her estranged husband who severely beat her and caused her permanent harm.

8. Civil Suits and Statutes
Civil suits brought against police agencies were a contributing factor in changing laws to include mandatory arrest, whether or not the act was witnessed by the officer.
Statutes have broadened the definitions and legislative protections. These definitions, provisions for protection, and enforcement vary widely between jurisdictions. All states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico have enacted some form of domestic violence legislation.

9. Research Methods Quantitative Qualitative Deductive model
Defines the relevant terms
Numeric design
Scientific surveys
Examples: the NCVS and the UCR
Looks at phenomena in the natural setting
Non-numeric design
Studies the characteristics of a population
Non-directional research effort

10. Sources of Data Data on family violence comes from many sources:
The FBI: Uniform Crime Report, NIBRS, Supplementary Homicide Reports
Bureau of Justice Statistics: NCVS, State Court Processing Statistics, Federal Justice Statistics, Survey of Inmates in State, Federal, and Local Correctional Facilities
The Centers for Disease Control—NISVS

11. Evaluating the Source
Information obtained on the internet must be evaluated thoroughly to be reliable. Utilize the Six-Step Model.
Sources must be cited properly.
Information on both APA and MLA formats are available in books, software programs, and on the Internet.

12. Family Violence Theory
Theories are the ideas that provide a framework for investigating the cause and effect relationship of events.
Theories from the Social Sciences
The Classical School
Rational Choice Theory
Deterrence Theory

13. Additional Theories The Positive School—Biological Theories Eugenics
Biochemical Imbalance Theories
Sociological Theories
Culture of Violence Theory
Social Disorganization Theory
Strain Theory
Gender-Role Theory

14. Additional Theories The Positive School—Psychological Theories
Social Learning Theories
Behavior Modeling Theory
Intergenerational Transmission Theory

15. Additional Theories Social Control Theories Attachment Theory
Individual Pathology and Male Abuses
The Conflict School
Patriarchal Theory
Gender Inequality

16. Conclusion
The Classical School, with its legalistic approach, is the one that most criminal justice students find memorable.
Positive Theory contains the most diverse options for examining family abuse.
Because the early biological explanations rest on racist and sexist foundations, they have been discredited.
Modern theories such as the biochemical imbalance and neurological theories are offered from the study of medical conditions rather than physical characteristics..