ONE PROBLEM INHERENT IN CHILD ABUSE RESEARCH IS THE DIFFICULTY OF DIFFERENTIATING THOSE CHARACTERISTICS WHICH ARE PRESENT IN THE CHILD PRIOR TO ABUSE AND THOSE WHICH ARE A CONSEQUENCE OF THE ABUSE ITSELF; IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER PREABUSE DATA TO AVOID BIASING RESEARCH INTO THE EFFECTS OF CHILD ABUSE ON DEVELOPMENT. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT ABUSED CHILDREN PRESENT THE FOLLOWING CONSISTENT BEHAVIORAL TRENDS: FUNCTION OUTSIDE THE NORMAL RANGE OF INTELLECTUAL, EMOTIONAL, SOCIAL, AND MOTOR DEVELOPMENT EITHER OVERAGGRESSIVENESS OR UNASSERTIVENESS; AND PASSIVE ACQUIESCENCE AND WITHDRAWAL. UPON FIRST CONTACT WITH PEDIATRIC PSYCHOLOGISTS IN HOSPITAL WARDS, ABUSED CHILDREN TEND TO EXHIBIT ONE OR MORE OF THESE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS: (1) REGRESSIVE OR IMMATURE BEHAVIOR SUCH AS THUMBSUCKING, OVERDEPENDENCY, CRYING, OR WITHDRAWING FROM PHYSICAL TOUCH; (2) AGGRESSIVE ACTING-OUT BEHAVIOR WITH FREQUENT TEMPER OUTBURSTS, HOSTILITY, AND REJECTION OF HUMAN CONTACT; AND (3) IMPAIRMENT IN INTELLECTUAL, EMOTIONAL, AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT REFLECTED BY POOR PEER RELATIONS, INADEQUATE SOCIAL SKILLS, AND EMOTIONAL ISOLATION. AS THE DYNAMICS OF THE ABUSED CHILD IN THERAPY OFTEN PARALLEL THOSE OF HIS PARENTAL MODELS, ADEQUATE IMPULSE CONTROL, ACCURATE REALITY TESTING, AND OTHER EGO FUNCTIONS MAY NEED TO BE DEVELOPED IN A THERAPEUTIC CONTACT. TWO ILLUSTRATIVE CASES FROM THE AUTHOR'S EXPERIENCE POINT OUT THE IMPORTANT CLUES CONCERNING VIEWS OF THE WORLD, TYPICAL DEFENSE MECHANISMS, INTACTNESS OF EGO, AND CAPACITY TO FORM MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS WHICH CAN BE GAINED FROM INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS AND PROJECTIVE DATA WITH ABUSED CHILDREN. A LIST OF REFERENCES IS PROVIDED. (DAS)