Although research on child and spouse abuse has defined and observed four types of child abuse and three types of spouse abuse, many researchers ignore the potential differences between types of abuse and fail to adequately describe the types of abuse present in their research sample. The goal of the current study was to examine the differences in offender background, personal and interpersonal problems, and family climate between two large samples of child abusers and spouse abusers. Participants were 2,910 child abusers and 7,035 spouse abusers who were officially identified as offenders over an 8-year period spanning 1988 through 1995 by the United States Air Force Family Advocacy Program. Participants completed questionnaires measuring the types of maltreatment engaged in, sociodemographic characteristics of offenders, psychological and interactional problems, marital problems, and family climate. Results of statistical analyses indicated that offender demographics and family climate factors varied with types of child abuse, but that spouse abusers were a relatively homogeneous group in terms of the comparison variables examined in the current study. The findings thus indicate support for the notion that the three types of child abuse are meaningfully different and that personal and interpersonal problems are not the main cause of between-group differences. Limitations of the current study include its reliance on a military sample. Future research should focus on describing offenders involved in multiple types of abuse. Tables, references