Self-medication provides a compelling explanation of motive for a woman to overuse and become dependent on alcohol and drugs, especially given intense stress symptoms that are characteristically manifested in response to chronic and traumatic victimization, such as childhood abuse and/or spousal battering. This study sampled 78 battered women, using validated pen and paper instruments to measure the variables of substance abuse, severity of battering, childhood physical and sexual abuse, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Significant correlations were found between severity of battering and victim alcohol abuse and between childhood sexual abuse and victim alcohol abuse, supporting a self-medication model. Multiple regressions yielded childhood sexual abuse as the strongest predictor of victim alcohol abuse, when parental substance abuse was statistically controlled.