VIOLENT CRIMES INVOLVING INTIMATES--RELATIVES, FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, OR WORK ASSOCIATES--WERE CONTRASTED WITH THOSE INVOLVING STRANGERS OR NEAR-STRANGERS FOR THE PERIOD 1973 THROUGH 1976, BASED ON DATA FROM THE NATIONAL CRIME SURVEY. FINDINGS INDICATE THAT AN ESTIMATED 3.8 MILLION INCIDENTS OF INTIMATE VIOLENCE WERE REPORTED TO HAVE OCCURRED DURING THE 4-YEAR INTERVAL; OF THESE, 1.2 MILLION WERE COMMITTED BY OFFENDERS WHO WERE RELATED TO THE VICTIM. DURING THE SAME PERIOD THERE WERE ROUGHLY 14.1 MILLION INCIDENTS OF VIOLENCE INVOLVING STRANGERS OR NEAR-STRANGERS. APPROXIMATELY 55 OF EVERY 100 INCIDENTS OF INTIMATE VIOLENCE WERE NOT REPORTED TO THE POLICE. IN THE CASE OF DOMESTIC DISPUTES, PRIVACY OR THE PERSONAL NATURE OF THE MATTER WAS THE MOST COMMON REASON OFFERED FOR NOT REPORTING. IN THREE-TENTHS OF ALL INCIDENTS INVOLVING INTIMATES, THE OFFENDERS DISPLAYED OR USED ONE OR MORE WEAPONS; A FIREARM WAS PRESENT 10 PERCENT OF THE TIME. AN ACTUAL ATTACK--WHEN OBJECTS WERE THROWN, WEAPONS USED, OR VICTIMS PHYSICALLY ABUSED IN SOME OTHER WAY--OCCURRED IN 3 OF EVERY 5 CASES INVOLVING INTIMATES. THREATS, WHICH CONSTITUTED THE REMAINDER OF THE INCIDENTS, WERE MORE COMMON TO NONINTIMATE THAN INTIMATE CRIMES. SELF-PROTECTION WAS ALSO RELATED IN A GENERAL WAY TO THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE CRIME AND VICTIM-OFFENDER RELATIONSHIP. TWO-FIFTHS OF INTIMATE CRIMES RESULTED IN INJURY; BRUISES, BLACK EYES, CUTS, AND SCRATCHES WERE THE MOST COMMON INJURIES. OF THE INCIDENTS, 13 PERCENT WERE SERIOUS ENOUGH FOR THE VICTIM TO REQUIRE SOME FORM OF MEDICAL CARE, AND A TENTH NECESSITATED HOSPITALIZATION OR EMERGENCY ROOM TREATMENT. EXAMINATION OF INCIDENT SUMMARIES AS RELATED TO INTERVIEWERS BY VICTIMS--A FEATURE UNIQUE TO THIS REPORT--UNCOVERED THE EXISTENCE OF CERTAIN COMMON SCENARIOS IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, SUCH AS DISPUTES AMONG ESTRANGED COUPLES OR THE INVOLVEMENT OF MINORS. AS MIGHT BE EXPECTED, DOMESTIC DISPUTES WERE MOST LIKELY TO OCCUR IN OR NEAR THE VICTIM'S HOME; CRIMES INVOLVING NONINTIMATES USUALLY TOOK PLACE AWAY FROM HOME. APPENDIXES CONTAIN DATA TABLES, CRIME AND VICTIM CHARACTERISTICS, TECHNICAL NOTES, AND INFORMATION ON THE SAMPLE AND RELIABILITY OF ESTIMATES. A GLOSSARY AND SOME FOOTNOTES ACCOMPANY THE TEXT.