Findings show that men with low educational attainment and economic status were more likely to physically assault their wives independent of their wives' characteristics or attitudes. In Vietnamese society, such men may be the most strained by financial and societal pressures to be successful family providers and may also feel threatened by the trend toward equality for women in Vietnamese society. Having a husband who embraced gender equality was not in itself protective against violence toward the wife. This was only the case when the woman also shared these views. This suggests that when women expect the husband to provide all of the financial resources, stress on the man increases, making him more prone to violence toward the wife. Data for this analysis were obtained from a study of relationships between gender and sexual and reproductive health conducted in Nghe, a Province in north-central Vietnam. In this region, recent social and economic changes have shifted livelihoods away from dependence on fishing. Under the economy based on fishing, men would catch the fish and women processed and sold them. Trends in the economy have been toward tourism, a wider labor market, and changes in occupational identity and income sources. The survey was conducted in February 2002 and involved 465 women, ages 18 to 35, and their husbands, ages 20-44. The survey questioned both husbands and wives about their attitudes toward gender equality, reproductive health outcomes, the prevalence of the partner's physical violence, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. 4 tables, 9 notes, and 45 references