Intimate Violence

by Richard J. Gelles, Murray A. Straus

Uses interviews and research surveys to examine the nature and extent of family violence, and offers advice on preventing child abuse, marital rape, wife-battering, and the abuse of the elderly

297 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1988

About the author

Dr. Richard J. Gelles is Former Dean (2001–2014) of the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also holds the Joanne T. and Raymond H. Welsh Chair of Child Welfare and Family Violence. He is Director for the Center for Research on Youth & Social Policy; Co-Faculty Director of the Field Center for Children's Policy, Practice, and Research; and Founding Director of the Evelyn Jacobs Ortner Center on Family Violence.

Dr. Gelles is an internationally known expert in domestic violence and child welfare and was influential in the passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. His first book, The Violent Home (1974), was the first systematic investigation to provide empirical data on domestic violence. More recent books, such as The Book of David: How Preserving Families Can Cost Children's Lives and Intimate Violence in Families, Third Edition, have also made a significant impact in the study of child welfare and family violence. He is the author of 24 books and more than 100 articles, chapters, and papers.