The project report (Project Interact) describes the outcome of 3 years of research on the nature, causes, and consequences of child abuse and neglect. The family as a locus of violence and the frequency of family violence (including homicide, police calls, physical punishment, and child abuse) are considered. Three models are presented to help explain child abuse (the psychiatric model, the sociological model, and the sociological interactional model). The major portion of the report deals with the findings of the project and include the following information: family interaction in two-parent abusive, neglectful, and normal families; a comparison of family interaction in single versus two-parent abusive, neglectful, and control families; patterns of reciprocity between parents and children (including comparisons between abuse and control families and gender comparisons); family interaction and family size (including positive and negative verbal and physical interaction); and life change and perceptions of illness. Included is a case study of a single parent abuse family and presented is a model for intervention for this family. It is reported that the overall level of interaction was lower for abuse and neglect families than for control families; there was a tendency to accent the negative in abuse and neglect families. (BD)