Ninety female residents of an urban domestic violence shelter completed structured interviews that included questions about their previous efforts to separate from their abuser and their perceived likelihood of returning to him in the future. The majority of the women (66.7 percent) reported that they had left and then returned to the batterer on at least one prior occasion. Most participants (88.3 percent) with a history of prior separations reported at least two previous attempts at ending the relationship; 33.5 percent reported five or more such experiences. Despite the high rates of past returns to the batterer, 74.4 percent of the women described themselves as "not at all likely" to return to the relationship at the time of the interview, and 57.8 percent could not identify any factor that might cause them to consider returning to the batterer. Compared to those leaving for the first time, participants with a history of past separations from the batterer were significantly more likely to indicate they might return because of their continued emotional attachment to the batterer. These women were also significantly more likely to have returned in the past for this reason. Emotional attachment as a reason for returning to a batterer contrasts with the literature's focus on external factors such as economic dependence, lack of safe haven, and fear of further abuse. 3 tables and 17 references