The past quarter-century has witnessed a dramatic upsurge of violent
crime in the United States and abroad. In this country, the rise in
violent criminal activity has been consistently documented in such
published accounts as the Uniform Crime Reports and the Statistical
Handbook on Violence in America, published by the FBI and the Vio- lence
Research Group, respectively. Further, social scientists-particularly
those working in the fields of sociology and psychology-have provided a
convergence of findings attesting to the magnitude of one of today's
most significant social problems: domestic violence (e. g., spouse,
child, and elder abuse). Such efforts have served as the impetus for
heightened clinical and investigative activity in the area of violent
be- havior. Indeed, a wide range of mental health experts (such as
psychologists, psychi- atrists, social workers, counselors, and
rehabilitation specialists) have endeavored to focus on strategies and
issues in research and treatment for violent individuals and their
victims. The purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive and
timely examination of current psychological approaches with violent
criminal offenders. Despite the fact that we continue to have much to
learn about perpetrators of violent acts, in recent an increasingly
large body of empirical data have been adduced about this years issue.
However, these data generally have appeared in disparate journals and
books. That being the case, it is our belief that such a handbook now is
warranted.