Evidence suggests that factors beyond the individual are associated with child physical abuse. The description of offender characteristics should be considered one part of a broader perspective that includes familial and societal factors. One organizational model of child abuse suggests that factors from four ecological levels contribute to child physical abuse: ontogenic (individual factors), microsystem (family factors), exosystem (community factors), and macrosystem (cultural factors). Another study suggests two additional factors: type of influence (potentiating or compensatory) and temporal influences (transient or enduring). Offender characteristics described in this review support different theoretical perspectives within the framework of the organizational models described above. This chapter describes the models, theoretical perspectives and general hypotheses that guided the associated research. References