The article suggests that childhood maltreatment consists of a variety of different types of abuse, as well as psychological neglect, such that each affected child may have experienced a different combination of, for example, sexual and/or physical abuse, psychological maltreatment and neglect, and exposure to parental domestic violence. In addition, each of these forms of abuse or neglect may vary on important dimensions, such as age of onset, severity, frequency and duration, and extent of injury. This constellation of adverse childhood events often occurs in the context of a variety of negative social, familial, and neurobiological factors, as well as phenomena such as parental psychopathology, substance abuse, and disattunement. Research over the last several decades reveals a significant association between psychological dysfunction in adulthood, and a history of childhood abuse or neglect. This article reviews the complex relationship between childhood maltreatment and later psychosocial difficulties among adult women. It is suggested that childhood maltreatment occurs in the context of a variety of social, psychological, and biological factors that both influence the maltreatment-symptom relationship and produce effects of their own. Note and references