Background and test data, including information from the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III) were systematically collected from four geographically distributed batterer programs as part of an evaluation of batterer intervention (n=840). The men appeared similar demographically to those in previous portrayals of court-mandated batterers, except that this sample had a greater portion of African-American and Latino men. Several dichotomies appeared among the men that might influence intervention, such as differences in living arrangements, education, employment and drinking. More than half of the men had "alcoholic" tendencies according to the MAST and more than one-quarter showed evidence of severe mental disorders on the MCMI-III. The four programs reflected regional differences in demographics but had relatively similar portions of men with previous arrests, mental problems and alcoholic tendencies. Tables, references