The model is based on four assumptions: (1) family relations vary considerably across time and cultures; (2) all parents are capable of maltreating their children; (3) parental behavior represents one of the two principal components of reproductive effort, the other component being mating behavior; and (4) behaviors and traits that optimize mating and parental effort represent different but interrelated clusters that may be incompatible with each other and differentially related to the likelihood of violence toward offspring. In general, the model shows that females tend to emphasize parental effort over mating effort more than males. In circumstances where male-male competition is especially predominant, however, there is reduced parental effort by females as well. Certain cultural norms and values can set the stage for child maltreatment, particularly in situations marked by such ecological disturbances as droughts, famines, and rapid social change. The probability of violence toward children increases even further if parents rely heavily on negative forms of communications within the family. One of the advantages of the model is that it attempts to specify mechanisms by which macroindicators of ecological disturbances can lead to microlevel processes culminating in violence and other forms of maltreatment. Coercive family interaction patterns represent the primary causal pathway linking ecological instability to family violence. 98 references