THE REPORT REVIEWS VARIOUS THEORETICAL POSITIONS AND CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF VIOLENCE AND FOCUSES ON THE COMPLEX INTERPLAY OF SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES ASSOCIATED WITH VIOLENCE IN MARITAL INTERACTION. THE INCIDENCE OF PHYSICAL ABUSE IS DEALT WITH THROUGH A REVIEW OF STUDIES OF HOMICIDE, DIVORCE, AND NONLETHAL ASSAULT STATISTICS. RESULTS FROM A SURVEY OF GREATER VANCOUVER AGENCIES ASKED TO ESTIMATE INCIDENCE FOR A PERIOD OF 6 MONTHS ARE REPORTED AND DISCUSSED. IN ADDITION, AN ATTEMPT IS MADE TO EXPLORE THE LINK BETWEEN ALCOHOL USE AND WIFE BATTERING. A NUMBER OF THEORIES REGARDING THIS ASSOCIATION ARE DISCUSSED, AND STUDIES OF INCIDENCE RELATING ALCOHOL TO VIOLENCE ARE REVIEWED AND COMPARED WITH LOCAL FINDINGS. THE NEEDS OF THE BATTERED WIFE ARE IDENTIFIED FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF BOTH SERVICES REQUESTED BY WOMEN AND THOSE OFFERED AND CONSIDERED NECESSARY BY AVAILABLE RESOURCE AGENCIES. AVAILABILITY AND UTILIZATION OF SERVICE IS DISCUSSED, AS WELL AS IMPEDIMENTS TO EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF SERVICES. BROAD SOLUTIONS OF SOCIAL ATTITUDES AND POLICIES ARE OFFERED, AS WELL AS SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS ON HOW NEEDS COULD BE MORE ADEQUATELY MET. BASED ON THE FINDINGS FROM THE LITERATURE REVIEW, THE PRELIMINARY SURVEY, AND A DISCUSSION OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY, SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT OF LOCAL SERVICES ARE MADE. AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE PAPERS AND BOOKS REFERRED TO THROUGHOUT THE REPORT IS APPENDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED).