One of the conceptual and definitional issues that has plagued the study of child maltreatment is the relationship between intention and outcome. This paper flows from the finding that the common developmentally destructive element in all forms of child maltreatment is psychological maltreatment, that the study of child abuse and neglect is the study of child maltreatment in a fundamental way. The key is to find a way to embrace the dynamic character of defining "psychological maltreatment," by creating and sustaining a model that locates that dynamic in the conceptual space between science and professional practice on the one hand, and culture and community norms on the other.