The study sample included 23 domestically violent husbands and 13 maritally distressed but non-violent husbands who were interviewed using the AAI. It was determined violent husbands 74 percent were more likely than distressed non-violent husbands 38 percent to be classified into one of the insecure categories on the AAI. As predicted, during laboratory arguments with their wives, dismissing husbands were the most controlling and distancing and preoccupied husbands were the least distancing during marital interactions. Secure husbands were significantly more defensive than the insecure types. Sequential analyses of reports of violent arguments at home revealed different patterns among different types of batterers. For preoccupied batterers only, wife withdrawal was a significant predictor of husband violence. For dismissing batterers, wife defensiveness was a significant precursor to husband violence. The authors theorize that preoccupied violence and emotional abuse by batterers are related to expressive violence in response to abandonment fears, whereas dismissing batterers use instrumental violence to assert their authority and to control their wives. The overlap between this and other typologies of violent men is explored. 66 references, 4 tables, and 1 figure