This article utilizes a psychological or
behavioural perspective to analyze the
domestic violence laws in the United States
and concludes that at the very least, states
should amend child custody laws to include
mental abuse in their definition of domestic
violence. The author uses "mental abuse" to
refer to verbal, emotional, and psychological
abuse, and discusses each of these in turn.
The article explains the behavioural approach
to law and establishes background information
on the phenomenon of domestic violence. Major
theories of domestic violence that have been