The data presented were derived from a study of the dynamics of family caregiving in Mexican-American and Anglo caregiving dyads. The analysis identified correlates of abuse from a group of variables that represented the structure and context of care-giving. The sample was a subset of data from a study of over 400 caregivers conducted between 1990 and 1996. In the primary study (Phillips, 1996), caregivers were recruited who provided at least one caregiving service, received no remuneration for their service, and lived within a 50-mile radius of the elder care recipient. From the primary data set, all caregivers (n=93) who met the criteria of being 55 years old or older and wives/domestic partners (n=40, 43 percent) or daughter/daughter surrogates (n=53, 57 percent) of dependent elders were selected. Of the 93 caregivers, 31 percent were Mexican-American, and 69 percent were non-Hispanic white. Twenty-seven women (29 percent) said they had been abused in the course of caregiving. Data were collected from caregivers and elders by structured face-to-face interviews in caregiver's homes and self-report instruments completed independently by the caregiver. Three categories of variables were considered in attempting to explain the abuse of older wife and daughter caregivers: structure, interactional context, and situational context. The data indicate that the problem is not trivial, and the interactional context of caregiving is the most promising aspect for explanation, intervention, and prevention. 3 tables and 50 references