MULTIPLE MALTREATMENT EXPERIENCES AND ADOLESCENT BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS - ADOLESCENTS PERSPECTIVES

By adolescence, appraisal of one's past life experience becomes critic al to the stage-salient issue of identity formation. This study examin ed adolescents' perceptions of their maltreatment experiences. It scru tinized the combined and unique contribution of five maltreatment type s (i.e., physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, neglect, a nd exposure to family violence) to variance in adolescent adjustment. It was predicted that these maltreatment types would account for signi ficant variance in adjustment when controlling for the context variabl es of age, sex, socioeconomic status, IQ, and stressful life events. A dolescents (N = 160, aged 11-17) were randomly selected from the open caseload of a child protection agency. Participants completed global s everity ratings regarding their experiences of the five types of maltr eatment, as well as a battery of measures assessing self- and caretake r-reported externalizing and internalizing symptomatology. The youths' maltreatment ratings significantly predicted self-reported adjustment , even when controlling for all context variables. Psychological maltr eatment was the most predictively potent maltreatment type, and enhanc ed the predictive utility of other maltreatment types. Significant sex differences in the sequelae of perceived maltreatment were evident. A lso, interactions between youths' ratings and those obtained from CPS files were detected. The findings were consistent with recent research in child maltreatment, and contribute to our understanding of develop mental psychopathology among adolescents.