Family Violence: Communication Processes »

Dudley D. Cahn is Professor of Communication at the State University of New York College at New Paltz. He is the editor of several books, the author of Conflict in Intimate Relationships, and the coauthor (with Ruth Anna Abigail) of Managing Conflict Through Communication.

Contributors engage the communication issues associated with violence in families, including interspousal violence and violent parents and children.

List of Illustrations ix

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xiii

1 An Evolving Communication Perspective on Family Violence Dudley D. Cahn 1

Part 1 Couples' Violence

2 Relational Control-Motivated Aggression: A Theoretical Framework for Identifying Various Types of Violent Couples Loreen N. Olson 27

3 Making Sense of Abuse: Account Analyses of Male Batterers Teresa C. Sabourin 49

4 Measuring Change in Attitudes Targeted by Batterer Intervention Programs Maria Elena Villar Victoria Orrego-Dunleavy Joan Svaldi Farr 73

5 Exploring the Communication of Men Revealing Abuse from Female Romantic Partners Jessica J. Eckstein 89

6 Seeing Family Violence Differently: Shifting Perspectives from Social Scientific to Rhetorical Suzanne M. Enck-Wanzer 113

Part 2 Parent-Child Violence

7 A Communication Perspective on Physical Child Abuse Angela B. Swanson Dudley D. Cahn 135

8 Distinguishing Communication Behaviors of Mothers High and Low in Trait Verbal Aggression: A Qualitative Analysis of Mother-Child Playtime Interactions Felicia Roberts Steven R. Wilson Julie E. Delaney Jessica J. Rack 155

9 Adolescent-to-Parent Abuse: Abused Parents' Perceptions of the Meaning and Goals of Adolescents' Verbal, Physical, and Emotional Abuse Nancy J. Brule 179

10 Forgiving the Unforgivable? Processes of Forgiveness and Reconciliation after Episodes of Family Violence Ruth Anna Abigail 205

List of Contributors 221

Index 223