EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT POWERFUL SOCIAL FACTORS HAVE CREATED AN ATMOSPHERE IN WHICH SOCIETY TOLERATES AND PERHAPS ENCOURAGES VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN. THE MAGNITUDE OF THIS PROBLEM IS SHOWN BY THE FACT THAT 28 PERCENT OF THE WOMEN IN A RANDOM SAMPLE HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN PHYSICAL VIOLENCE. THIS PHENOMENON SHOULD BE EVALUATED IN AN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL-SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE. LEARNED HELPLESSNESS IS A SOCIAL-LEARNING THEORY THAT CAN BE APPLIED AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL RATIONALE FOR WHY SOME WOMEN REMAIN IN A BATTERING SITUATION AND WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM PSYCHOLOGICALLY. THE LEARNED HELPLESSNESS THEORY HAS THREE BASIC COMPONENTS: (1) INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN (I.E., THE CONTINGENCY); (2) COGNITIVE REPRESENTATION ABOUT THE CONTINGENCY (I.E., LEARNING, EXPECTATION, BELIEF, PERCEPTION); AND (3) BEHAVIOR. ACCORDING TO THIS THEORY, ABUSED WOMEN HAVE LEARNED THAT THEIR VOLUNTARY RESPONSES REALLY DO NOT MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE IN WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM, AND IT IS THEREFORE VERY DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO ALTER THEIR COGNITIVE PRINCIPLES TO BELIEVE THAT THEIR COMPETENT ACTIONS CAN CHANGE THEIR LIFE SITUATION. INTERVIEWS HAVE SHOWN THAT BATTERED WOMEN DO NOT LIKE BEING BEATEN; THEY ARE NOT MASOCHISTIC; AND THEY WILL NOT LEAVE THEIR HUSBANDS BECAUSE OF ECONOMICS, DEPENDENCY, CHILDREN, FEARS, AND LACK OF ALTERNATIVES. THERE IS A CYCLE ASSOCIATED WITH BATTERING, CONSISTING OF A TENSION-BUILDING PHASE, THE EXPLOSION OF ACUTE BATTERING INCIDENTS, AND A LOVING RESPITE. BATTERED WOMEN FREQUENTLY RETREAT FROM ASSISTANCE BECAUSE THEY WANT TO PROTECT THEIR HUSBANDS AND THEMSELVES. THE DEVELOPMENT OF REFUGES FOR BATTERED WOMEN HAS HELPED THEM OVERCOME THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS CONNECTED WITH BATTERING, BUT MORE MUST BE DONE TO RID THSE WOMEN OF LEARNED HELPLESSNESS. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (BAC)