Child abuse may be defined as a deliberate attack on a child by a parent or other caregiver that results in physical injury. There is only one parent. The parent's level of education and socioeconomic status are low. The parent is highly authoritarian. The family changes its place of residence frequently.
Wives are the most frequent victims of spouse abuse .
Many researchers believe that spouse abuse is directly related to the high incidence of violence in American families. A form of violence that has recently come to public attention is elder abuse . Elderly people bruis easily and fall often, and physicians are not trained to detect abuse in elderly patients. It is possible that family members are simply unable to cope with the problems of an aging parent or grandparent yet are unwilling to place the parent in a nursing home. The pattern of early involvement in crime among children from poverty-stricken and socially isolated neighborhoods is a strong signal throughout the nation.