Each woman was interviewed extensively about her marriage and her perceptions of why her husband was violent with her. Women also were asked about their perceptions of the causes of a hypothetical wife battering situation. Overall, the women tended to see their husbands as responsible for the violence and to see the husband's violent behavior as a means of coping with various stresses or as a reaction to these stresses. Contrary to expectations, very few of these women blamed themselves for the violence. Self-blaming by the victim was greater for the first violent incident and by those not fitting the stereotype of the battered woman. While these women's attributions generally were not self-blaming there were some indications that they blamed themselves: 54 percent had told no one of the first incident, about 50 percent said they attempted to comply more with the husband's wishes after the violence, and they were more likely to blame the husband in a hypothetical case than in their own case. 2 tables and 15 references. (Author abstract modified)