The CTS is a brief instrument designed to measure three aspects of parent-to-child behavior: reasoning, psychological aggression, and physical aggression. The psychological aggression and physical aggression indexes are intended to measure the incidence rate and the severity of emotional and physical maltreatment of a child. The CTS is apparently the only available instrument for measuring physical and emotional maltreatment of children, as compared to measuring the effects of the maltreatment in the form of a physically or psychologically injured child. The CTS measures are moderately reliable and are not confounded with social desirability response sets. The concurrent validity of the CTS as a measure of child abuse has not yet been investigated; however, since there is strong evidence for the concurrent validity of the CTS for measuring spouse abuse, this may also apply to its use as a measure of physical abuse of children. The many findings which have resulted from research using the CTS in studies of physical abuse of children provide evidence of the construct validity of this instrument. Although the CTS index of physical abuse has proven itself, and the CTS measure of psychological abuse is promising, both measures can also be regarded as the basis for further development and refinement. 3 tables, 13 notes, 72 references.