Citation

Johnson MP. J. Marriage Fam. 1995; 57(2): 283-294.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, National Council on Family Relations, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.2307/353683

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article argues that there are two distinct forms of couple violence taking place within families in the United States and other Western countries. A review of evidence from large-sample survey research and from qualitative and quantitative data gathered from women's shelters suggests that some families suffer from occasional outbursts of violence from either husbands or wives (common couple violence), while other families are terrorized by systematic male violence (patriarchal terrorism). It is argued that the distinction between common couple violence and patriarchal terrorism is important because it has implications for the implementation of public policy, the development of educational programs and intervention strategies, and the development of theories of interpersonal violence.