Child Maltreatment

Child maltreatment is a pervasive concept within the field of developmental psychopathology, both for its detrimental effect on myriad developmental processes and as a prime etiological factor for various forms of psychopathology. Unfortunately, defining child maltreatment can be difficult and, as a result, adequately estimating its prevalence is challenging. Even gauging the impact of maltreatment on a developing child can depend on the definition one uses of the term. Nonetheless, research over the past 50 years clearly demonstrates the harmful effect of child maltreatment, and various efforts to prevent its occurrence and intervene when it has occurred provide useful directions for clinical practice.