The impact of maltreatment on children's psychosocial adjustment: A review of the research

The present paper reviews the most current empirical research on the psychosocial adjustment of maltreated children and concludes that exposure to physical abuse and/or neglect has serious consequences for the child's present and long-term adjustment.

Abstract

While there is wide consensus that child victims of maltreatment are at risk for future social and psychological maladjustment, conspicuously few controlled empirical studies which examine this problem exist. The relative inattention to the psychological sequelae of child maltreatment is unfortunate since observations suggest that exposure to physical abuse and/or neglect has serious consequences for the child's present and long-term adjustment. The present paper reviews the most current empirical research on the psychosocial adjustment of maltreated children.