The search for causes of domestic aggression has focused largely on sociocultural and psychological factors. Efforts to understand domestic aggression have emphasized intraindividual and interpersonal factors, environmental stressors, and the cultural context in which aggression occurs. Much of the research in marital aggression has been guided by the question of how batterers and victims are different from spouses in nonaggressive relationships. The focus has been on differences in upbringing, family environment, personality, and psychopathology. Elder abuse has come into the public spotlight more recently than other forms of domestic aggression, and there is less empirical research. Alcoholism is one form of pathology that consistently emerges in domestic violence research. Further, a number of studies demonstrate that wife-abusing males often have defective self-concepts. The interpersonal dynamics of domestic violence associated with perpetrator and victim have several implications, including differential treatment by law enforcement, the legal system, helping professions, the media, and the public. Dependency is an important factor in both marital and elder abuse. It has also been suggested that powerlessness or perceived powerlessness may be a causal factor common to all forms of violence. Economic stress, job dissatisfaction, and work stress are associated with marital violence, and many of these stressors can be moderated by social support networks. Sociocultural factors contribute to marital violence. Sexual aggression is characteristic of more severe cases of marital aggression and has been identified as a risk marker for interspousal homicide. Elder abuse flourishes in a sociocultural environment that glorifies youth and treats aging as a disease. 80 references