The respondents completed a demographics questionnaire and the Conflict Tactics Scale. The results showed that father-to-mother violence or abuse predicted violence or abuse in all combinations of peer relationships for both men and women in this sample. Mother-to-father violence or abuse showed a less consistent pattern in that it predicted violence behaviors among young adults, but not the more severe abusive behaviors. The data appear to be consistent with social learning theory and cultural spillover theory. While the data showed that mothers of respondents were as violent as fathers, the fathers emerged as stronger models or legitimizers of violent behavior for their children. 1 table and 21 references