240 POOR, LOWER-CLASS MOTHERS PROSECUTED FOR CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT, OR FROM NORMAL TREATMENT CONTROL SAMPLES, WERE ASKED TO PARTICIPATE IN A STUDY OF CHILD-REARING ATTITUDES. ALL WERE OR HAD BEEN RESIDENTS OF NEW YORK CITY. TESTED IN 12 CATEGORIES, THEY WERE ASKED ABOUT GENERAL COPING; WHETHER THEIR EMOTIONAL NEEDS WERE MET; EXPECTATIONS FOR THEIR CHILDREN; LIFE CHANGES IN MARRIAGE, OCCUPATION, AND HEALTH; FAMILY-LIFE STRESS ITEMS EXPERIENCED IN GHETTOS SUCH AS EVICTIONS, MUGGINGS, AND ARRESTS; INFANT RISK (A SIGNIFICANT RELATION EXISTS BETWEEN A CHILD'S PREMATURITY AND HIS SUFFERING ABUSE); AND OTHERS. TEST RESULTS WERE ANALYZED TO FIND COMBINATIONS CHARACTERISTIC OF THE THREE KINDS OF SAMPLES AND DETERMINE HOW ACCURATELY THE OPTIMAL SET OF CATEGORIES (OR VARIABLES) COULD RECLASSIFY THE SUBJECTS. RESULTS SHOW SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES AMONG GROUPS, IN EMOTIONAL NEEDS MET, COPING, AND VARIOUS FAMILY-LIFE STRESSES. DIFFERENCES IN LIFE CHANGE ITEMS WERE MARGINAL, WHILE INFANT RISK YIELDED NOTHING SIGNIFICANT. UNMET NEEDS AND POOR COPING WERE PREVALENT AMONG NEGLECTFUL AND ABUSIVE MOTHERS, RESPECTIVELY, BUT NEGLECTING MOTHERS EXCEEDED THE OTHER TWO GROUPS IN EXPERIENCING FAMILY-LIFE STRESS. FEW, IF ANY, CORRELATIONS BETWEEN PERSONALITY TYPE OR CHILD-REARING ATTITUDES AND ABUSE OR NEGLECT WERE FOUND. IT WAS FOUND THAT, WHILE STRESS AND PARENT PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS BEAR ON MALTREATMENT, THEY LEAVE 88 PERCENT OF NEGLECT OR ABUSE PHENOMENA UNEXPLAINED. THE PROPOSED THREE-FACTOR THEORY TO EXPLAIN CHILD ABUSE IS DEEMED OF LIMITED VALUE IN DEALING WITH PAST CASES, SINCE MANY VARIABLES ACTING UPON FAMILIES OR COURTS CANNOT BE ANTICIPATED. BETTER, MORE LENGTHY RESEARCH IS RECOMMENDED. REFERENCES AND CHARTS ARE INCLUDED. (PAP)