This study presents cross-sectional data on physical aggression toward children and child aggression toward parents from the initial data set. (The study was part of a large-scale, longitudinal study of the etiology of alcohol abuse and the development of family violence.) Subjects for the study were 91 families with sons between 3 and 6 years of age who were at risk due to the father's alcoholism. Multiple measures were used. Results indicated that for both fathers and mothers, physical aggression toward children was related to their life troubles, which included long-term alcohol involvement, antisocial behavior, and depression. Level of parental alcohol involvement was not related to physical aggression, either to the child or from the child to the parent. Children's aggression toward their parents was related to the parents' life troubles and certain aspects of the perceived environment. The child's age contributed significantly to the prediction of aggression by and to the mother, but played no role in predicting father-child behavior. Parental aggression and long-term alcohol-related difficulty appeared to be heavily implicated in the predictive equation. While the model used was moderately successful in a predictive sense, other child-related factors need to be specified for a more complete picture. Twenty-eight references and five tables are included. (RH)