The participants completed a wide array of instruments that measured theorized triggers for dating violence, coping skills, and the use and effects of violence and control in interpersonal relationships. Findings show that individuals who reported ever using force in their dating relationships were more likely to express their anger, experience higher levels of jealousy, have poorer communication skills, report more daily stressors, be more irrational in their behaviors and beliefs, have more difficulty controlling their anger, report more problems due to using alcohol, report being more verbally aggressive, and indicate more efforts to control their dating partners than individuals who never used force in dating relationships. All of these variables have had support in the literature for being present in maritally violent men and/or for being present with respondents admitting to using force in dating relationships. Only the variables of self-esteem, fear of negative evaluation, and problem solving skills did not show differences between the two groups. Because there can be many different types of individuals with many different patterns of using force, it is important to distinguish those individuals for whom physical violence appears to be a pattern in their lives. Determining which variables are predictive of higher severity and frequency might allow for identification of individuals at risk for continued use of violence, and also might allow for more specifically targeted interventions for reduction of dating violence. 3 tables and 78 references