For this volume Gil examines and interprets a series of nationwide studies of child abuse that were initiated in 1965 in an attempt to unravel the context of social and cultural forces with which violent behavior against children is associated. With an approach that is epidemiologic, social, and cultural, rather than clinical and psychological, he compiles findings from press and public-opinion surveys, from analyses of nearly 13, 000 incidents of child abuse reported through legal channels across the country during 1967 and 1968, and from a comprehensive study of more than 1300 incidents reported in a representative sample of cities and counties.