This book presents a wide range of issues pertaining to conflict and violence in close, personal relationships. It crosses disciplinary and national boundaries by presenting the work of scholars in psychology, family studies, anthropology, women's studies, sociology and legal philosophy who come from Denmark, France, Germany, Britain, Greece, Poland, Spain and The Netherlands to provide a range of geographical, cultural and historical backgrounds. An integrative framework to guide the reader is provided by an introduction that maps the main issues and methods, chapter prefaces that place each chapter within the framework and a final section in which commentaries by US researchers reflect upon the different perspectives presented.

Chapter 1 Conflict and violence in the family, Renate C.A. Klein; Part 1 Dyadic dilemmata; Chapter 2 Parent-child conflict, coercive family interaction, and physical child abuse, M.Angeles Cerezo; Chapter 3 Making sense of family conflict Influences on account making, Rosaleen Croghan, Dorothy Miell; Chapter 4 Budding happiness, Renée Römkens, Sylvia Mastenbroek; Part 2 Extended family; Chapter 5 Family conflict in France through the eyes of teenagers, Didier Le Gall; Chapter 6 The discourse of philotimo and conflict resolution in an urban Greek family, Vana Theodossopoulou-Papalois, Mara Theodossopoulou; Part 3 Cultures and communities; Chapter 7 Gender stereotypes and beliefs about family violence in Poland, Anna Kwiatkowska; Chapter 8 Explanations for wife beating in Greenland, Bo Wagner Sørensen; Chapter 9 Violence without end?, Carol Hagemann-White; Part 4 Commentaries; Chapter 10 Family violence, Frank D. Fincham; Chapter 11 Social responsibility and the production of knowledge about interpersonal violence, Rebekah Bradley, Keith Davis; Chapter 12 Complexities of family violence and the need for belongingness, Ileana Arias; Chapter 13 The status of family violence research in Europe, K.Daniel O'Leary;