Background: There is limited knowledge about how positive and negative parenting practices differ across individuals and change over time in parents with substantiated physical abuse history, and how trajectories of these parenting practices affect child adjustment. Objective: The present study examined latent trajectories of positive and negative…

This research review examines the findings of those studies of empirically sound methodology which compare matching groups of abused and non-abused children. The evidence consistently demonstrates detrimental consequences in intellectual, emotional, and social development. (Author/DST)

This study investigated behavior problems in 66 school-aged physically abused, neglected, and control group children in the Basque Country, Spain. Abused and neglected children had higher subscale scores for social problems, delinquent behavior, and attention problems and showed lower school adjustment. Neglected children appeared more aggressive,…

Psychosocial characteristics of child maltreatment cases labelled as "not serious enough" were studied with 48 cases of suspected physical abuse, 13 of neglect, and 8 of psychological maltreatment identified by teachers, and a nonabused comparison group (n=283). Results indicated poor personal and social adjustment of the children in the…

This study compared adolescent child molesters (n=31) with non-sex-offending delinquents (n=34) and normal adolescents. Molesters showed significantly more global maladjustment than normals and were more socially anxious and threatened by heterosocial interactions than non-sex-offending delinquents. Results support the hypothesis that social skill…

This study examined perceptions of child abuse (psychological, physical, and sexual) and later adult psychological and social adjustment in a nonclinical sample of 173 individuals. Forty-seven subjects reported significant levels of abuse but failed to acknowledge themselves as abused. Abused individuals (both Acknowledgers and Minimizers) had…

Using a prospective design spanning 17 years, the authors studied in a sample of 231 boys and girls the predictive links of verbal abuse by the teacher during childhood to high-school graduation and behavioral and emotional problems in young adulthood, as well as the putative mediating role of individuals' generalized and domain-specific…

Research indicates that male children are more likely to be abused by nonfamily than by family members. Residing in a neglectful home or a mother-headed household and having previous homosexual contact tend to heighten risk for sexual abuse by nonfamily members. Effects appear to be serious and long-lasting. (Author/JW)

An eighteen-year longitudinal study of 1,265 New Zealand children examined the relationship between retrospective reports of physical punishment/maltreatment and rates of adjustment difficulties at age 18. Results found the children exposed to harsh or abusive treatment were at-risk for juvenile offending, substance abuse, and mental health…

Examines the emotional and situational factors that influence the child victim's role in sexual assult by adults, and the social implications of blaming the victim. (Author/CM)

Used longitudinal design to assess risks associated with maltreatment in maltreated and nonmaltreated children. Found that heightened difficulties in peer relationships and self-esteem were associated with greater severity and chronicity of maltreatment. The best predictions of specific aspects of adjustment considered timing, type, and severity…

Investigated family and social cognitive characteristics as mediators of social adjustment among college women. Indicated decreased cohesion and adaptability in the family of origin, increased perception of social isolation, and poorer social adjustment among subjects abused as children. Family characteristics and especially increased perceptions…

Investigated relationships among prenatal maternal resources, perceptions about parenting, and children's temperament at 6 months, and adaptation of 90 adolescent mothers three years after the birth of their first child. Found that maternal resources uniquely predicted later maternal cognitive functioning, personal adjustment, and child abuse…

Depression and maltreatment were analyzed as predictors of childhood adjustment problems, with 68 children (ages 8 through 12) at high risk due to poverty, physical abuse, and neglect. Depression and maltreatment predicted parents' and teachers' ratings of social competence. Depression also predicted parents' ratings of peer rejection, children's…