Effects of Maltreatment on School-Age Children's Socioemotional Development: Assessments in a Day-Camp Setting

This study assessed the impact of different forms of maltreatment on the socioemotional development of 5- to 11-year-old children in a day-camp setting. Obtained measures of self-esteem and peer relations for 70 neglected, emotionally abused and/or physically abused children, and 67 demographically matched nonmaltreated comparison children. Completed counselor assessments of the children's self-esteem and provided both counselor and peer ratings of the children's prosocial, aggressive, and withdrawn behavior. Found maltreated children to score lower than the comparison children on the self-esteem and prosocial measures and higher on the withdrawn behavior ratings. Found welfare dependency to exert an independent additive negative effect, beyond maltreatment history, on the socioemotional development of the children. Results are discussed in relation to past studies of high-risk children and existing theories of developmental psychopathology.