Significant advances have occurred in our knowledge of the effects of maltreatment on the
developmental process since the “battered child syndrome” (Kempe, Silverman,
Steele, Droegemueller, & Silver, 1962) was first identified. In fact, during the mid-1980s and
onward, the quality and methodological sophistication of investigations of the developmental
sequelae of child maltreatment increased dramatically (for summaries, see Cicchetti & Lynch,
1995, and Cicchetti & Toth, 2000). However, overall progress has been hampered by a lack
of consensus on the operationalization of the construct of child maltreatment (Barnett, Manly,
& Cicchetti, 1993; Besharov, 1981; Cicchetti & Rizley, 1981; Giovannoni &
Becerra, 1979). In recognition of the complexities accompanying definitional issues in the area of
maltreatment, a decade ago a Special Issue of Development and Psychopathology was
devoted to defining psychological maltreatment (Cicchetti, 1991). The challenges associated with
defining maltreatment were again highlighted in a Special Issue of Development and
Psychopathology that addressed advances and challenges in the study of the sequelae of
child maltreatment (Cicchetti, 1994a). In the editorial to that issue, Cicchetti (1994b) concluded
that “the lack of consensus regarding the definition of maltreatment employed by various
investigators [had] made comparability across studies difficult to achieve” (p.
2).
Overview of the special issue on child maltreatment and bullying: Different perspectives