The definitions of abuse vary from state to state. There are, however, some similarities in the actions that are considered abusive in all of the statutes. Physical violence and the threat of physical violence are included in every state’s statute. At the same time, some states are very precise in their definitions of abuse in regard to the physical and non-physical actions that abuse is composed of and the parties that are involved; other states include only basic definitions that are more open to broad interpretation.