The study found that women who reported being abused as children were significantly more depressed and exhibited more maladaptive behaviors than women who did not report a history of abuse. The cognitive beliefs and perceptions spawned by childhood abuse that led to adult depression were negative beliefs and shame about one's value and competence, mistrust of others, feelings of emotional deprivation, and a feeling of abandonment and isolation. The women were administered the Demographics Questionnaire in order to determine psychiatric history and the stability of the family in which they were raised. The childhood Trauma Questionnaire measured childhood experiences of emotional abuse, emotional neglect, physical abuse, physical neglect, and sexual abuse. The Beck Depression Inventory measured the current presence and severity of depressed mood. Young's Schema Questionnaire measured core beliefs about oneself in relation to psychological distress, self-esteem, and symptoms of personality disorder. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to examine the relationship between childhood abuse and depression severity, as well as the relationship between childhood abuse and dysfunctional beliefs and perceptions of self. 2 tables and 47 references