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In the last decade, important progress has been made toward understanding the social causes of wife-beating. However, the research has remained almost entirely on the individual or interpersonal level of analysis. This article focuses on women's status at the societal level and marital inequality and violence, which are interpersonal-level variables. Based on data from a number of national surveys, the contextual analysis suggests that the degree to which marital inequality is associated with wife-beating is affected by the context of sexual inequality. Violence against wives is most severe in families that reside in states where the general status of women is fairly high relative to men, but in which the husband still dominates within the home.

The relationship between increasing sexual equality and the level of violence against wives has been the subject of some debate. A negative relationship has been posited by those who point out that as economic, educational, and legal opportunities and rights for women improve, fewer women remain trapped in violent marriages. Others have suggested that violence may increase as these social changes create additional strain and frustration for males attempting to retain their dominant position. This controversy is the focus of the present study. Using American states as the unit of analysis, the relationship between the societal status of women (in economic, educational, political, and legal spheres) and the rate of wife-beating is empirically examined. A status of Women Index is developed on the basis of U.S. Census and other data. State violence rates are based on data from a representative sample of 2143 American adults. The central finding of the study is that there appears to be a curvilinear relationship between women’s status and wife-beating. In states whre women’s status is lowest, wives are most likely to be assaulted by their husbands. Violence deceases as sexual equality increases—to a point. In those states where the status of women is highest, the level of violence against wives is also quite high. It is suggested that limited options to violent marriage may keep battered wives in abusive relationships in low-status states. In states where women’s status is relatively high, increased conflict and violence may be the consequence of rapid social changes which may be threatening to husbands. The study focuses on short-run consequences of increasing sexual equality. It does not address the impact of institutionalized sexual equality because even the highest status states are far from fully egalitarian.