The NFVR is a national cross-sectional survey of adults designed to develop national population estimates of the incidence of intrafamily physical violence to be compared to estimates from the original family violence survey undertaken 10 years earlier in 1975. Participants 19 years old or older who were married or living as a couple were extracted from the sample for this study; the total subsample was 5,168 cases. The subjects were then separated into two groups by age: 60 and over and under 60; similarities and differences between the two age groups were compared. The 125 questions asked by telephone addressed various social, psychological, and demographic factors that have been linked to spousal violence in the research literature. Violence in this study refers to "an act carried out with the intention or perceived intention of causing physical pain or injury to another person." Study results show that although the incidence of spouse abuse in older couples is significantly less than that of younger couples, many of the risk factors present in abusive couple relationships are the same. More than half of the older respondents who reported physical abuse had experienced this kind of abusive behavior for many years. For others, spouse abuse may have started with significant life changes that sometimes accompany older age, such as a second marriage or mental or physical illness. Implications are drawn for research, policy, and practice. 6 tables, 49 references, and appended Couple Form R 1 from the Conflict Tactics Scale (used in the survey)