The project identified certain factors that placed children at risk for poor developmental outcomes and parents at risk for maltreating their children: family poverty level, mother's age at time of birth, low maternal education level, marital status, and stressful life circumstances. Further, the project established four maltreatment groups: physical abuse, neglect, verbal rejection, and psychological unavailability (emotional neglect). Of a sample of 267 children, 44 were physically abused, neglected, abandoned, or otherwise maltreated during the first 2 years of life; 24 families neglected their children. These parents did not provide for the physical needs of children (food, clothing, shelter, and medical care). In addition, home physical environments were often unsafe for young children, and children were not adequately supervised or protected. Assessments of children at 12, 18, 24, 42, and 54 months revealed a high incidence of child neglect, physical abuse, and other forms of maltreatment. The failure of caretakers to provide the necessary emotional responsiveness had devastating effects on early child development. For example, neglected children had difficulty coping with academic and social demands of school. Developmental outcomes for emotionally neglected children differed somewhat from those for physically neglected children; emotionally neglected children were more likely to show signs of psychological maladjustment and pathology. In general, maltreating mothers did not understand their child's behavior and the complexities of parent-child relationships. The need to prevent child neglect, taking into account personal and environmental variables, is discussed. 7 references