SPECIFIC ISSUES ADDRESSED BY THE STUDY PROVIDED DATA ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF INTERVENTION ON THE SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENT OF ABUSED CHILDREN AND THE POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF ABUSE INDEPENDENT OF THE EFFECTS OF LOW SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS. THE SAMPLE WAS DRAWN FROM CHILDREN UNDER COURT DEPENDENCY IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY (CALIF.) DURING NOVEMBER 1971. TWO ABUSE GROUPS WERE SELECTED: CHILDREN WHO HAD SUFFERED 'NONACCIDENTAL TRAUMA' (NAT) OR INFLICTED INJURY (N=219); AND 'FAILURE TO THRIVE' OR NEGLECTED (NEG) CHILDREN (N=159). A GROUP OF 185 'NONABUSE' FAMILIES WAS SELECTED FROM A SAMPLING OF EVERY TENTH CALL TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES FOR PROTECTIVE SERVICES DURING A 1-MONTH PERIOD; DATA WERE COLLECTED APPROXIMATELY 12 MONTHS LATER FOR THE TWO ABUSE GROUPS THAN FOR THE PROTECTIVE SERVICES (PS). FOR THE ABUSE GROUPS, A PRECODED SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE WAS DISTRIBUTED TO CASE SOCIAL WORKERS FOR COMPLETION. A MODIFIED QUESTIONNAIRE WAS USED FOR THE PS FAMILIES. RESULTS OF THE STUDY ARE REGARDED AS DEMONSTRATING THAT INTERVENTION IMPROVED THE EMOTIONAL AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING OF THE ABUSED CHILDREN. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT NAT CHILDREN TEND TO HAVE MORE PROBLEMS IN MANAGING AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR AND IN ESTABLISHING PEER ADULT RELATIONSHIPS, WHILE NEG CHILDREN MANIFEST MORE PROBLEMS IN DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY. BOTH ABUSE GROUPS SHOW HIGHER RATES OF PROBLEM BEHAVIOR AND DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY (BOTH AT INTAKE AND FOLLOWUP) THAN A CONTROL GROUP OF PS CHILDREN. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT ABUSIVE ENVIRONMENTS DO HAVE SPECIFIC EFFECTS INDEPENDENT OF LOW SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND GENERAL FAMILY DYSFUNCTION, BUT THAT THESE EFFECTS ARE IN PART REVERSIBLE. SOME PROBLEMS OF OUT-OF-HOME PLACEMENT AS AN INTERVENTION METHOD ARE CITED. STATISTICAL TABLES AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (DAS)