Cicchetti D, Lynch M
Mt. Hope Family Center, Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, NY 14608.
Psychiatry. 1993 Feb;56(1):96-118. doi: 10.1080/00332747.1993.11024624.
In recent decades it has become increasingly apparent that violence affects a significant proportion of families in the United States (Bureau of Justice Statistics 1983). Violence, in fact, is becoming a defining characteristic of American society. A recent comparison of the rates of homicide among 21 developed nations indicates that the United States has the highest homicide rate in the world, and its rate is more than four times higher than the next highest rate (Fingerhut and Kleinman 1990). What is even more alarming is the high incidence of violent death and injury for children and adolescents in the United States. Acts of violence are the cause of death for over 2000 children between the ages of 0 and 19 years each year, and more than 1.5 million children and adolescents are abused by their adult caretakers each year (Christoffel 1990).
近几十年来，暴力影响了美国相当一部分家庭，这一点已变得越来越明显（美国司法统计局，1983年）。事实上，暴力正成为美国社会的一个决定性特征。最近对21个发达国家的凶杀率进行的比较表明，美国的凶杀率是世界上最高的，其凶杀率比第二高的国家高出四倍多（芬格赫特和克莱曼，1990年）。更令人担忧的是，美国儿童和青少年暴力死亡和受伤的发生率很高。暴力行为每年导致2000多名0至19岁的儿童死亡，每年有超过150万儿童和青少年受到成年照顾者的虐待（克里斯托费尔，1990年）。
