Analyzing Domestic Abuse Coverage in Introductory Criminal Justice and Criminology Textbooks

The dynamics of the coverage of domestic abuse in introductory criminal justice and criminology textbooks are analyzed. A sample consisting of 60 textbooks is used to examine the textual coverage of domestic abuse before and after a legislative landmark for women, the 1994 Violence Against Women Act. Content analysis results indicate that coverage of domestic abuse in the introductory textbooks did increase following 1994 as predicted. This increase, which was observed in both the criminal justice and the criminology samples, is attributed to the vast strides that women have made toward equality, including the Violence Against Women Act, as well as other instances of political pressure to change sometimes draconian domestic abuse policies. Possible avenues for much needed future research are discussed.