By David Jensen, LSCSW

There are family history factors that must be assessed when taking social histories because these factors can potentiate the development of interpersonal violence.

• remorseless physical brutality
• excessive punishment
• abuse by caregivers toward child
• witnessing intra-familial violence toward each other
• parental loss
• deprivation
• neglect ambivalence or rejection
• presence of a mental illness or drug abuse in one or both parents
• the attitude of family of origin about violence

Resource: Newhill, Christina, (2003), Client Violence in Social Work Practice: Prevention, Intervention, andResearch, New York: the Guilford press.