Structured interviews, files, and questionnaires yielded information about childhood maltreatment. The presence of behavioral problems was inferred from early files, and diagnoses were derived through interviews. LISREL path models showed that the sons' childhood history of rejection (emotional maltreatment) and neglect and the mothers' childhood physical abuse predicted the sons' externalizing behavioral problems. The sons' physical abuse experiences predicted their adult depression and substance dependencies. Contrary to expectations, behavioral problems were not a mediator between childhood maltreatment and adult diagnoses. Neither was there a direct relationship between maternal abuse history and the sons' maltreatment experiences. Although the predictive models were deficient in many respects, the study found at least partial support for two tenets. First, mothers with a childhood history of abuse tend to have children with externalizing behavioral problems. Second, child maltreatment is related to childhood behavioral problems and adult psychiatric problems, even in this clinical sample with a high prevalence of problems. A traumatization model is a potential theoretical approach for understanding the complex relationships between maltreatment, behavioral problems, and adult psychiatric diagnoses. 3 tables, 2 figures, and 63 references