Prevalence of Domestic Violence.

 A. Prevalence John Fantuzzo, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania 

Dr. Fantuzzo discussed research on the prevalence of children exposed to domestic violence, opening his presentation with the following question: “We see through the glass dimly and is the glass half empty or half full?” In doing so, he was referring to the substantial amount of information lacking in the field, particularly regarding violence prevention and intervention. He cautioned, however, that we should not try to obtain data too quickly, explaining that this can lead to tensions among researchers, advocates, and practitioners, and ultimately leave the field with no standard definitions, no systematic way of substantiating violence or exposure, no organized network of sentinels, and no national prevalence data. Despite the challenges of conducting population-based inquiry, several national reports and databases are attempting to address the data inadequacy problem. These resources include National Crime Reports (uniform crime reports and national incidents-based reporting system), population-based surveys (e.g., National Family Violence Survey and National Crime Victimization Survey, both telephone based), and secondary analyses of cross-city experiments. Each of these sources has their strengths and weaknesses, and point to areas where there is room for improvement. For instance, police departments nationally use the uniform crime reports on investigated and substantiated crime. However, there is no standard code for domestic violence and no information on the persons exposed to the violent incident. The Spouse Abuse Replication Project, a data collection partnership between police and researchers, reported important information about children in the domestic violence setting and associated risk factors. Unfortunately, it was not a national study and was limited to misdemeanor assaults. In addition, there were missing data on child characteristics and no details confirming the types of sensory exposure to the violence. Considering the limitations of past surveys, direct investigation offers the best hope for defining and substantiating children’s exposure to domestic violence and assessing risks and impacts over time. However, it must begin with standard definitions and data collection, and then assess additional risks and history, short and long-term impacts, and connections to services and follow-up. Population-based surveillance systems that have standard protocols and take a developmental and cultural approach are critical. Future research directions should involve building a rigorous scientific capacity in partnership with strategic sentinels across municipalities. Researchers cannot adequately assess the impact of violence, obtain quality information, or develop research-based interventions without building capacity through partnerships.

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