Results revealed that the two groups experienced similar childhoods concerning domestic assault. The NCI men had more years of education, were more likely to be employed full-time, and tended to earn more money than the CI men. The NCI men also had more social support and scored higher on interpersonal problems than did the CI men. The CI men were more likely than the NCI men to be separated and to report drinking of alcohol during their most recent assault. Compared to the norms in the Basic Personality Inventory, both groups scored significantly higher on depression, anxiety, feelings of alienation, hypochondriasis, and impulse expression. CI men had higher denial and social introversion scores and NCI men had higher interpersonal problem scores than the norm. Results suggested that although the groups were similar in many respect, their significant differences may have implications for the treatment of wife abuse. Tables and 35 references (Author abstract modified)