What is 'Continuum of Family Violence' theory?

Battering of spouses and partners tends to follow a continuum of severity, a common pattern of abusive behavior that begins with emotional and psychological abuse and progresses to life-threatening violence. Such a pattern is not universal, of course. The first abusive act can be life threatening, in that an emotionally and psychologically abused person may commit suicide or engage in self-destructive behavior due to depression and a loss of self-esteem. It is important to remember that (1) physical violence is not necessarily the defining characteristic of battering and (2) one or two acts of violence in the absence of a number of controlling behaviors is not battering. In fact, this "Continuum theory" depends upon the destruction of the victim's dignity and identity, as she is terrorized into submission. Only when the victim is emotionally and psychologically neutralized can the batterer achieve sufficient leverage to enforce control.