Domestic violence: Intimate partner violence, child maltreatment, and co-occurrence

Family violence is a major public health concern, impacting millions each year. Only a small portion of family violence gets reported to police or comes to the attention of child protective agencies. Importantly, different types of maltreatment frequently co-occur within the family constellation, and this co-occurrence has often been overlooked. Where one type of maltreatment is occurring, another may also be: children who are exposed to domestic violence are, often, also victims of direct maltreatment. The interconnections among forms of maltreatment have implications for understanding risk and for intervention. In this chapter, we discuss definitional issues around intimate partner violence and child maltreatment, and their co-occurrence. Unique and shared risk factors for child maltreatment and intimate partner violence are reviewed, as well as implications for assessment, and intervention.