Interpersonal violence is a major social problem in our society. The training of more researchers is sorely needed to further understand the causes of violence and to discover effective solutions. The proposed training program is responding to several needs of our nation?s research agenda on interpersonal violence. Research efforts have suffered because they tend to be fragmented. Divisions often exist across disciplines, types of violence (e.g. sexual assault, battering), different age groups (children, adults, elderly), and family vs. non-family violence. The training program will build upon the accomplishments of the Interdisciplinary Research Program on Violence Across the Lifespan since 1994 in bridging these divisions. This Program is recognized nationally for its unique emphases on community-based research, testing the effectiveness of prevention and intervention programs, and cross-cultural and cross-national research. Through mentoring and coursework, the predoctoral trainees in the proposed training program will further develop their skills in these areas. In addition, predoctoral students will complete doctoral training that includes basic knowledge and research skills in the social and behavioral sciences. Predoctoral trainees will attend a seminar titled """"""""Interdisciplinary Approaches to Violence and Mental Health"""""""" that applies conceptual frameworks and diverse methods and an """"""""Interdisciplinary Research Seminar on Violence Across the Lifespan."""""""" Trainees will also attend a research responsibility seminar that covers a comprehensive set of ethical issues. In their second and third years, trainees will attend a lecture series, be part of a Community of Scholars, and be mentored by two accomplished violence researchers from different disciplines and professional schools. These researchers will impart their expertise in epidemiological and community based research and prevention/intervention program evaluation within a general ecological framework.
