This paper uses data from a sample of 541 resident's of battered women's shelters to examine the 'generational transfer hypothesis' as it applies to these male batterers. This hypothesis asserts that a child's exposure to domestic violence in his family of orientation increases his propensity to abuse his spouse as an adult. The specific question addressed here is derived from this hypothesis: the degree of violent socialization of male spouse batterers is directly related to the severity of their violent behavior. Four indexes are used in our analysis: a 'Violent Socialization Index,' a 'Forms of Violence Index,' a 'Types of Injuries Index,' and an overall 'Violence Severity Index.' The results indicate that the socialization experiences of wife batterers, whether involving neglect, outright abuse, or merely witnessing parental or sibling abuse, appear to be directly related to the severity of their later adult violence in the family. (Publisher abstract)