The findings show that "avoidance" coping behaviors (attempting to avoid being in a stressful situation or thinking about a stressful event, such that change does not occur) in responding to relationship stresses were linked indirectly to abusive behavior in the context of problem drinking. The greater use of avoidance coping strategies was more likely among problem drinkers. In contrast, men who used higher levels of problem-solving coping behaviors (attempting to determine and eliminate the causes of stress) were less likely to be problem drinkers. Avoidance, but not problem-solving coping, was also directly and positively related to physical and psychological abuse. Men identified as problem drinkers were more likely to use both physical and psychological abuse. Greater use of physical violence was strongly related to higher levels of injury among female partners and mediated the relationship between problem drinking and injury. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for the identification of risk and protective factors for men's violent behavior toward intimate female partners as well as for the development of intervention strategies. The study used an ethnically diverse sample of 147 men in a court-mandated program for domestic violence offenders. The men completed questionnaires at the first program session. Path modeling was conducted to test the extent to which coping and problem drinking predicted both physical and psychological abuse. In addition, the links between problem drinking and physical abuse to the severity of injuries to the men's female partners were examined. 2 figures, 1 table, and 79 references