Estimates are that 25 percent of adult women in the United States have been physically abused at least once by a male intimate. Families in which women are abused are also at high risk for the physical and sexual abuse of the children. To explore the relationship between violence and psychiatric disorder, the author reconstructed the life experiences of patients who had been abuse victims. Abused patients were more likely than nonabused patients to have histories of suicidal and assaultive behaviors, and abused patients tended to remain in the hospital longer. Abused patients tended to turn their aggression inward in self-destructive forms. Abused males tended to be more aggressive, and abused females tended to be more passive. The most enduring psychological effect of chronic abuse is a disordered and fragmented identity. Psychiatrists must appreciate the connection between abuse and mental illness if their treatment is to be relevant to patients' life experiences. 12 references.