Physical Violence in American Families, 1985

Data were collected in this follow-up survey to compare estimates of the incidence of intrafamily physical violence with estimates obtained in an earlier survey, PHYSICAL VIOLENCE IN AMERICAN FAMILIES, 1976 (ICPSR 7733). The main component of this survey design was a national cross-sectional survey of adults in the United States who either (1) were currently married or living together, (2) were single parents with children under 18 in the household, or (3) had been married or had lived with a partner of the opposite sex within the past two years. Approximately two-thirds of American households met one of these three requirements at the time of the survey. Another objective of the survey was to generate comparisons of the incidence of intrafamily physical violence by race and ethnicity. Variables in this data collection include number of couples, single parents, and children in the household, respondent's race, ethnicity, sex, age, and marital status, number of persons in the household previously married, years lived in the community, and employment/occupation information.