MALTREATMENT AND SOCIOMETRIC STATUS EFFEC TS ON SOCIAL AND AFFECTIVE CHILDS ADJUSTMENT

This work studies the effects of two high risk conditions (maltreatmen t and sociometric rejection) on social and affective child adjustment. The sample was composed by 181 subjects classified in: (a) three diff erent categories of maltreatment condition (physical maltreatment, fam ily violence and nonmaltreatment) according to the answers in a semist ructured interview and data from social services expedients; (b) two s ociometric groups (preferred and rejected), according to the received nominations. Being maltreated physically and watching family violence produced a very similar desadaptive pattern: Maltreated subjects were characterized by externalizing conduct and, in a less proportion, inte rnalizing conduct. The subjects that watched family violence were char acterized by depressive problems and externalizing conducts. The rejec ted subjects, as a group, showed the most desadaptive pattern.