Psychological maltreatment here is defined as "any communication pattern that could undermine a child's resolution of important developmental tasks." Psychological maltreatment lies along a continuum, ranging from mild forms of inappropriate parental communication to clearly dangerous forms of abuse. Four typical behavior patterns are identified, in which the child tries to relieve feelings of guilt by assuming new roles in the disintegrating family. These include the child's sacrifice on the altar of the marriage crisis by supporting the weaker parent, agreements among the children as to how they will be divided between the parents, parentification (in which the child acts as a substitute partner for one of the parents), and the child's awareness of his position of power and helplessness and the problems created by guilt. Separating and divorcing parents are guilty of psychological maltreatment when they deliberately induce separation-anxiety and guilt feelings in a child, when they use a child to fulfill their own needs and purposes, when a child is illegally abducted by a parent, and when parents physically abuse each other in front of their children. 15 references