Writing primarily for those who may be facing intervention decisions about family violence in the United States, Malley-Morrison (Boston U.) and Hines (U. of New Hampshire) place the causes of family violence in a cognitive-affective-ecological framework that sees wider cultural mores and social forces as being just as significant as cognitions about behavior. They profile the prevalence of abusive behavior in the United States and among selected ethnic minority communities (Native American Indian, African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian American). They also explore the perceptions of violence and definitions of abuse that they believe underlie tolerance for aggression. A significant amount of case material is considered throughout. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR More Reviews and Recommendations

Kathleen Malley-Morrison, Ed.D., is a Professor of Psychology at Boston University. She has conducted considerable research on family violence since 1980 when she was a postdoctoral fellow on the family violence team at Children's Hospital in Boston. She also regularly teaches undergraduate and graduate courses focusing on family violence. She is first author of a book, Treating Child ABuse & Family Violence in Hospitals, with Eli Newberger, Richard Bourne, and Jane Snyder, on treating child abuse and family violence in hospitals, as well as second author, with Anne Copeland, of Studying Families (Sage 1991). With Denise Hines, she has also coauthored Family Violence in a Cultural Perspective (Sage 2004).  Her current focus is primarily on cross-cultural and international perspectives on family violence and abuse.  Denise A. Hines, Ph.D., received her Ph.D. in the Human Development Program in the Psychology Department at Boston University.  Her dissertation, a behavioral genetic study of aggression in intimate relationships, was supported by an individual National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Mental Health.  Her primary research interests include genetic influences on aggressive behaviors in family relationships, female-perpetrated family aggression, and cultural influences on family violence.  She has several publications on these topics, including a book from Sage entitled Family Violence in a Cultural Perspective (2004), and she has made numerous conference presentations relating to issues in family violence.  She is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at theFamily Research Laboratory and Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire with Murray Straus and David Finkelhor.

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