PARENT, TEACHER, AND PEER RATINGS OF PHYSICALLY ABUSED AND NONMALTREATED CHILDRENS BEHAVIOR

Behavior ratings by parents, teachers, and classmates of physically ab used fourth to sixth graders, identified from the New York City Maltre atment Register, and case-matched classroom controls, showed substanti al concurrence among informants: Parents and teachers both rated signi ficantly more behavioral disturbance in the abused children, and peers ' ratings were significantly correlated with adults' ratings, especial ly those by teachers. Children's exposure to spouse or partner physica l abuse, which had a substantial prevalence among both child-abusing a nd control families, reduced the difference in disturbance ratings bet ween children who were themselves physically abused and those who were not. Overall, we conclude that physically abused children show pervas ive behavioral disturbance, in that parents, teachers, and classmates all see higher levels of behavior problems and lower levels of sociall y desirable behavior in them compared to their nonmaltreated peers.