Maltreatment's wake: the relationship of maltreatment dimensions to child outcomes.

Objective: The aim of this exploratory study was to examine the extent to which, in combination, the best constructions of basic dimensions of maltreatment, identified in other papers from LONGSCAN, predict child outcomes.

Method: Maltreatment records of a sample of 203 children were used to define dimensions of maltreatment related to Type, Severity, Chronicity, and Age at First Report. The definitions were based upon findings presented in other papers in this special issue.

Describing maltreatment: do child protective service reports and research definitions agree?

Objective: The National Research Council identified inadequate research definitions for abuse and neglect as barriers to research in child maltreatment. We examine the concordance between child protective services (CPS) classifications of maltreatment type with the determinations of type from two research coding systems. We contrast the two coding systems and the CPS classification, in their ability to predict subsequent difficulties in the psychological functioning of maltreated children at age 8.