A discussion of the multifactorial model emphasizes that a wide variety of combinations and permutations of factors can cause or contribute to actual episodes of child assault. Parental factors include status, psychosocial or psychological problems, and sociogiological factors: age of parent perpetrator, socioeconomic status, abuse of the parent as a child, mental illness, poor impulse control, alcohol or drug abuse, and stress. Child factors contributing to abuse are reviewed, including the unwanted child and the child who has colic, a disability, hyperactivity, or other problems that make parenting difficult. The paper explores environmental factors that can influence the behavior of a parent or child. Topics covered include marital discord and value conflicts, single parent families, and family characteristics - size, parents' employment, social isolation, harsh disciplinary practices, and ignorance regarding human development. The paper summarizes statistics on child assault in foreign countries, the United States, the State of California, and its counties. A section on identification and reporting lists common characteristics of assaulted or neglected children, as well as characteristics of assaultive parents or caretakers. A diagram of the multifactorial model of child assault is supplied.