This paper proposes a multivariate strategy for the study of parental acceptance-rejection and child abuse and describes a research study on parental rejection and child abuse which illustrates the advantages of using a multivariate, (rather than a simple-model) approach. The multivariate model is a combination of three simple models used to study child abuse and neglect (psychiatric, behavioral and social-situational), and is based on the supposition that parental behavior is a function of the parent's personal characteristics in interaction with the child's personal characteristics and behavior and with situational factors. The model suggests that psychological, behavioral and social-situational factors almost always operate simultaneously to produce rejection and abuse. Eighteen risk factors associated with child abuse and parental rejection are grouped into three categories consistent with the three major components in the multivariate model. A study of 14 abusive and 11 nonabusive families illustrates the relative advantages of the multivariate over the simple-model approach. Data on all three elements of the model were collected through home visits over a period of three months, the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (Adult PARQ II), the Personality Assessment Questionnaire (Adult PAQ), and a background data schedule measuring situational and demographic information. The child's perception of his parents' behavior was obtained through the Child PARQ, and an individual interview. Study data, analysed using both simple-model and multivariate approaches, indicated that variation in parental behavior could be better explained through an analysis of the cumulative effect of multiple risk factors (multivariate model) rather than three factors by themselves (simple-model). (CM)