The findings indicate a strong link between child maltreatment (physical and sexual abuse, neglect, and exposure to domestic violence) and a family's internal and external stressors (family conflict, parents' personal problems, and external constraints on the family). After controlling for stressors, family socioeconomic status, and a child's gender, the study determined that child maltreatment was predictive of adolescent emotional maladjustment and problem behaviors. Thus, the adverse effects on the youths' emotional and behavioral development apparently stemmed from the maltreatment they directly experienced from parents/caregivers rather than from family hardships or parental problems. Study participants were sampled from child welfare abuse and protective service programs in a two-county area of Pennsylvania, which included a substantial urban/suburban population. Participants consisted of all new and some ongoing cases over a 2-year period in which there was at least one abused or neglected child age 18 months to 6 years in the home. At the same time, additional families were recruited from Head Start centers and child-care programs from within the same geographic area. The full sample (n=457) consisted of 248 boys and 209 girls from 297 families. Three assessments were completed, at preschool age, elementary-school age, and in adolescence. Eighty-two percent of the children from the first assessment were involved in the second assessment, and the third assessment involved 91 percent of the original sample. Assessments used standardized instruments to measure child physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and exposure to domestic violence. Parents were asked about 39 stressors currently experienced in the household. Youth outcomes were derived from self-reports that measured emotional disorders, and problem behaviors. 3 tables, 2 figures, and 53 references