Forty-seven couples were included in the sample. The parents were administered the Child Abuse Potential Inventory and the Parenting Stress Index during their first appointment for treatment services. The Child Abuse Potential Inventory is a 160- item, forced-choice screening questionnaire designed to discriminate between adult physical abusers and nonabusers. The primary scale is divided into six factor scales: distress, rigidity, unhappiness, problems with child and self, problems with family, and problems from others. The Parenting Stress Index consists of 101 items that are measured on a 5-point Likert scale. The Index is based on a multidimensional model of parenting stress that assumes both child and parent factors contribute to dysfunctional parenting. The findings show significant differences between perpetrating and nonperpetrating parents. Nonperpetrating parents reported more problems with family; greater total parenting stress and child-related stress; and greater stress from child demands, adaptability, acceptability, and distractibility. No significant gender differences in child abuse potential and parenting stress were found. Aspects of parent-related stress moderated the relationship between child-related stress and abuse potential. Perceived stress from parenting sense of competence was isolated as a variable that significantly increased abuse potential at medium and high levels of child-related stress. 3 tables, 3 figures, and 16 references