Definition and Historical Perspective of Domestic Violence

In order to provide a frame of reference that will set the stage for the subsequent portions of the research, a simple definition of domestic violence and its presence throughout recorded history will now be presented.

Simply stated, domestic violence can be best described as a pattern of behavior used by a competent adult or adolescent to establish and maintain power and control over another competent adult or adolescent (Burnett E, 2006) . The behavior, can include physical violence, psychological abuse, and non

Abusers, in most cases, are carrying on a sort of twisted family tradition as many abusers were victims of domestic violence at some point in their lives themselves, be it as a child or perhaps in another domestic situation as adults. Regardless of the legacy of domestic violence that has brought the abuser to this point, there are some generally accepted symptoms that are summarized as follows:

FRUSTRATION- The root of domestic violence in the mind of many abusers begins with a sense of frustration when they consider their financial situation, job possibilities, domestic situation, and the like, which are usually quite dismal given the fact that the vast majority of domestic abusers are underachievers who lack the drive to advance themselves, but dedicate large amounts of time and energy to obsession about their plight and ways of "acting out" in opposition to it.

Tension building- Often times without any conscious effort or action on the part of the abuser, tension builds within them to the point where they often recognize that something is wrong, and overcompensation, such as extreme kindness to their usual victim manifests itself as the abuser attempts to stave off the coming rage.

It is interesting to note that the previously discussed key factors in domestic violence can often be defeated if they are diagnosed early and treated effectively, but this is often easier said than done, and many times does not occur for a variety of reasons. Because of the fact that many domestic abusers came from a background of domestic violence on the part of their parents or guardians when they were children, it is logical and fair to draw the conclusion that even if these key factors were detected by the adults in the household, because it was an abusive household to begin with, it is highly unlikely that treatment would be sought for the child because of denial on the part of the adult that a problem does in fact exist, as an exercise of power over the child as another form of domestic abuse, or perhaps the adult(s) are so tainted themselves that they see the behavior as "normal", and therefore see no reason to believe that there is in fact any type of problem that needs to be addressed. Whatever the case, as with so many other ailments, early diagnosis and treatment is the bottom line.

Some common words found in the essay are:
DEPRESSION- Paradoxically, Psychology Online, Women Survey, Domestic Violence, SKILLS- Citing, SYNDROME- Arguably, Regardless BWS, Syndrome BWS, , Explosive Disorder, domestic violence, substance abuse, psychology online 2004, psychology online, predisposing factors, burnett 2006, childhood depression, online 2004, key factors, conduct disorder, abuse victims, law enforcing personnel, domestic violence presence, patterns domestic violence, factors domestic violence,
Approximate Word count = 2513
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)