Including our own (McGee & Wolfe, 1991), there are 13 articles in this volume on psychological maltreatment — and there appear to be 13 different opinions regarding the subject. Psychological maltreatment and its measurement are controversial topics. We were delighted that our article served to stimulate such thoughtful discussion. Unfortunately, there are several instances in the critiques where we were quoted out of context or our arguments were misconstrued. We do not have the space to deal with every such instance; rather, we will respond to the general themes arising from the articles. The first theme concerns the role of research on psychological maltreatment in the social policy process. The second theme deals with assumptions regarding measurement. We provide a brief description of our own research efforts in an effort to illustrate how we are dealing with the problems inherent in our definition.

Research in the broad area of child maltreatment has investigated the effects of these phenomena globally and without much attempt to distinguish the nature and extent of such experiences. This study sought to examine the underlying structure of child maltreatment and relate this structure to current adolescent adjustment. A principal components analysis was conducted with 162 adolescents who had backgrounds of child maltreatment, using a comprehensive measure of such experiences at two developmental time periods (birth to 6 years, and 7–12 years). This analysis resulted in interpretable factors that were used to create scales measuring maltreatment in a continuous, nonredundant manner. These scales were used to test main and interaction effects of each type of maltreatment on current adjustment of adolescent males and females. For males (N = 71), the relationship between early maltreatment and adjustment was significantly enhanced when interactions between physical and psychological abuse and between partner abuse and neglect were entered into the equation. For females (N = 91), current adjustment was significantly related to the developmental period in which neglect or psychological abuse had occurred. Results are discussed in relation to measurement and theoretical issues.

Despite consensus on the existence and importance of psychological maltreatment, there is far less agreement on how it should be defined. This article reviews the current definitions, proposes a theoretical clarification of the concept, and describes its relevance for the field of developmental psychopathology. We conceptualize psychological maltreatment as the interaction between maltreating parent behaviors and the special vulnerabilities of a child, particularly his or her developmental level. Also, we restrict the definition of psychological maltreatment to verbal and nonverbal parent communication; parental acts that involve physical or sexual contact are excluded. This effort strives to minimize the redundancy with the definitions of other forms of maltreatment and facilitate research into the effects of all forms of victimization.

The study examined the predictive utility of blame attributions for maltreatment. Integratingtheory and research on blame attribution, it was predicted that self-blame would mediate ormoderate internalizing problems, whereas other-blame would mediate or moderate externalizingproblems. Mediator and moderator models were tested separately. Adolescents (N =160, ages 11–17 years) were randomly selected from the open caseload of a childprotection agency. Participants made global maltreatment severity ratings for each of physicalabuse, psychological abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and exposure to family violence. Participantsalso completed the Attribution for Maltreatment Interview (AFMI), a structured clinical interviewthat assessed self- and perpetrator blame for each type of maltreatment they experienced. TheAFMI yielded five subscales: self-blaming cognition, self-blaming affect, self-excusing,perpetrator blame, and perpetrator excusing. Caretaker-reported (Child Behavior Checklist) andself-reported (Youth Self Report) internalizing and externalizing were the adjustment criteria.Controlling for maltreatment severity, the AFMI subscales explained significant variance inself-reported adjustment. Self-blaming affect was the most potent attribution, particularly amongfemales. Attributions mediated maltreatment severity for self-reported adjustment but moderatedit for caretaker-reported adjustment. The sophistication and relevance of blame attributions toadjustment are discussed, and implications for research and clinical practice are identified.

By adolescence, appraisal of one's past life experiencebecomes critical to the stage-salient issue of identityformation. This study examined adolescents' perceptions of theirmaltreatment experiences. It scrutinized the combined and uniquecontribution of five maltreatment types (i.e., physical abuse, sexualabuse, psychological abuse, neglect, and exposure to family violence)to variance in adolescent adjustment. It was predicted that thesemaltreatment types would account for significant variance inadjustment when controlling for the context variables of age, sex,socioeconomic status, IQ, and stressful life events. Adolescents(N = 160, aged 11–17) were randomly selected from theopen caseload of a child protection agency. Participants completedglobal severity ratings regarding their experiences of the five typesof maltreatment, as well as a battery of measures assessing self- andcaretaker-reported externalizing and internalizing symptomatology. Theyouths' maltreatment ratings significantly predictedself-reported adjustment, even when controlling for all contextvariables. Psychological maltreatment was the most predictively potentmaltreatment type, and enhanced the predictive utility of othermaltreatment types. Significant sex differences in the sequelae ofperceived maltreatment were evident. Also, interactions betweenyouths' ratings and those obtained from CPS files weredetected. The findings were consistent with recent research in childmaltreatment, and contribute to our understanding of developmentalpsychopathology among adolescents.