This book examines the role child abuse plays within a victim's individual development from childhood through their adult life. It begins by describing the different types of child abuse, prevalence rates, and risk factors. It also describes four types of child maltreatment that include: physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. The focus then turns to the full range of influences of abuse on development, including the emotional, cognitive, academic, and social consequences in childhood and adolescence. The long-term effects of abuse on adult functioning and psychopathology are detailed as well. Many topics are woven together to convey the role of parenting style, marital adjustment, stress in the home, cross-cultural influences, poverty, and others on child abuse and its effects. Prevention is detailed as well as a way to redress the many problems raised by abuse. This book uses theory and research to convey the importance of multiple contextual influences that affect abuse and can be used to ameliorate it. Included are an author index and a subject index. (Contains 365 references.) (MKA)