This article discusses the research on abuse against men in intimate relationships with a primary focus on the effects of this abuse. We begin by discussing the incidence of physical aggression against men, then address methodological and conceptual issues associated with the incidence data. We next review studies assessing the effects of aggression against men and discuss ways in which this research can be furthered and improved. Finally, we discuss why men would choose to stay in these relationships and consider the scant research on emotional abuse against men.

Since the 1970s, researchers and public health and/or social policy communities have devoted increasing attention to family violence. Although officially reported crime figures for family violence appear to be declining, rates continue to be high in broadly defined racial and/or ethnic minority groups. More careful assessments of the potential role of race/ethnicity in family violence, and similarities and differences occurring across and within groups categorized based on race/ethnicity, are essential if adequate interventions are to be developed and utilized. This article provides suggestions on conducting better studies on family violence in the United States, particularly with respect to issues of race/ethnicity. The authors begin by considering conceptions and definitions of race/ethnicity and providing a broad definition of family violence. They then suggest issues for consideration at each stage of the research process, from reviewing previous research, to making methodological decisions, selecting samples, choosing measures, and analyzing and interpreting findings.

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The contribution of attachment styles to social intimacy and expectations of friends was investigated in Caucasian American and Korean young adults. Koreans scored higher on preoccupied attachment, lower on intimacy, and lower on friendship expectations. In regression analyses, secure attachment contributed positively and dismissive attachment contributed negatively to intimacy and positive expectations; culture added significantly to the equations, with Korean students reporting less intimate relationships with friends and more negative expectations than Caucasian Americans.

Sibling abuse has been studied much less extensively than other forms of family violence in the United States; moreover, research on how sibling abuse is viewed in different ethnic-minority groups has been rare. Convenience samples of Native American ( n = 25), Latino/Hispanic ( n = 45), African American ( n = 30), European American ( n = 78), Asian Pacific American ( n = 31), and South Asian American ( n = 29) participants responded to an open-ended survey requesting examples of extreme, moderate, and mild sibling abuse. Asian Pacific Americans listed proportionately more instances of physical aggression in their examples of mild abuse and of psychological aggression in their examples of severe abuse—an inverse of the pattern in the other groups. South Asian Americans mentioned beating and hitting significantly more often than other groups. In addition, European American participants gave the most instances of sexual abuse. Gender differences were found, with women mentioning physical aggression between siblings more often than men as extreme abuse.