Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Violence (PDF)

"From assisted suicide and batter women to human trafficking and sex offenders, this guide provides an excellent overview of the state research on interpersonal violence. This set is highly recommended for academic libraries."
—John R. M. Lawrence


Interpersonal violence is behavior that intentionally threatens, attempts, or actually inflicts harm on another. This violence invades both the public and private spheres of our lives; many times in unexpected and frightening ways. Interpersonal violence is a problem that individuals could experience at any point during the life span—even before birth. Interpersonal violence is experienced not only throughout the life course but also as a global problem in the form of war, genocide, terrorism, and rape of women as a weapon of war.

The Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Violence provides accurate, research-supported information to clarify critical issues and educate the public about different forms of interpersonal violence, their incidence and prevalence, theoretical explanations, public policy initiatives, and prevention and intervention strategies. These two volumes contain more than 500 accessible, jargon-fee entries written by experts and provide cross-references to related entries, as well as suggested readings for further information.

Key Features

• Defines key concepts and explains theoretical principles clearly and succinctly


• Provides information on current data sets, regional and national organizations specializing in various dimensions of interpersonal violence, and relevant Web sites


• Serves as a quick reference guide to definitions, statistics, theories, policies, and prevention and intervention programs


• Discusses concern with interpersonal violence as a problem across the life span and across cultures


• Addresses careers in the many fields of interpersonal violence

Key Themes

• Children and Youth


• Civil and Criminal Legal Systems


• Interpersonal Violence—General


• Intervention and Prevention Programs


• Legislation


• Organizations and Agencies


• Racial/Ethnic and Cross-Cultural Issues


• Research Methods and Data Collection Instruments


• Sexual Violence and Abuse


• Syndromes, Disorders, and Other Mental Health Issues


• Theories and Theoretical Perspectives


• Violence Between Intimates/Family Violence

The Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Violence is designed for members of the general public who are interested in learning more about various aspects of the problem of interpersonal violence, making it a must-have resource for academic and public libraries.