Call for Abstracts and Abstract Submission

Conference Goals

The Family Research Laboratory and the Crimes against Children Research Center are pleased to announce the 2020 International Family Violence and Child Victimization Research Conference. 

This conference is part of a three-decade series of conferences on all aspects of family violence and youth victimization. Our conferences have historically been a unique opportunity for researchers and scientists/practitioners from a broad array of disciplines to come together for the purpose of sharing, integrating and critiquing accumulated knowledge on family violence. At previous meetings, participants have included professionals and graduate students from psychology, sociology, psychiatry, social work, nursing, women's studies, law, criminology, criminal justice, anthropology, medicine, public health, and child development.

Program Topics

We invite submissions on all aspects of family violence and youth violence including:

• Intimate partner violence
• Child maltreatment
• Exposure to family and community violence, including exposure to racism and discrimination
• Peer violence, school violence, and bullying
• Corporal punishment
• Trafficking
• Sexual victimization

We hope to receive submissions representing diverse methodological approaches.  We are also interested in research on understudied populations or those groups at increased risk for violence and victimization, including but not limited to the following topics and populations:

• International perspectives
• Developmental and ecological approaches
• Program evaluation & community participatory research
• Methodological issues and innovations
• Theoretical and conceptual innovations
• Prevention research
• Ethical issues
• Historical changes or trends in reporting and incidence
• All ethnic and racial populations
• LGBTQ individuals
• People with special needs
• Military families

Finally, we are particularly interested in cross-cutting research that builds bridges across the many disciplinary silos that have developed in violence research.  This could include but is not limited to:

• Research on polyvictimization
• Research on polyperpetration
• Links between victimization and offending
• Interrelationships among mechanisms and consequences that are commonly studied in one subspecialty of violence research but may have applicability to others

Papers can describe findings from empirical studies or reviews of the literature. Literature reviews should clearly specify how they advance theory, methodology, practice, or policy.

Session Formats

Single paper submissions.  It is possible to submit a single paper that will be given as an oral presentation (usually with slides).  These will be combined into paper panels that include 3 or 4 papers.  Usually, approximately 15-20 minutes is available to each presenter (varying somewhat depending on the number of presentations in a panel and the length of the time slot).

Symposia panel submissions.  A panel submission is a pre-organized symposium.  You will select a chair and usually 3 to 4 papers linked by a common theme to present together in a single session. 

Poster submissions.  A poster is a visual presentation of a project.  Poster sessions offer opportunities for more informal interaction with conference attendees, who can discuss your work one-on-one.  For conference attendees, poster sessions often the opportunity to learn about a large number of studies in a single session. 

In previous years, we have received more papers than we can accept. In order to give the widest number of people the opportunity to participate, we may limit each presenter to only one presenting role.  If you make multiple submissions, please email the conference administrator (FRL.Conference@unh.edu) and indicate which paper you would prefer to present in the event that we must limit presentations to only one per author. There are times when we may need to limit the number of pre-organized panels.  We are increasing the number of poster sessions this year so that we can accommodate the greatest number of presenters possible.

Conference Setting

The Sheraton Harborside is a full-service hotel in the heart of the historic seaside city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This picturesque area is located an hour north of Boston, Massachusetts, and close to New Hampshire's White Mountains. Many excellent restaurants, quaint shops, and interesting historical landmarks are within easy walking distance. There's something for everyone in your family to enjoy. Plan to begin or end your summer vacation here in New England.