Abstract
The total sample studied consists of 26 children who had sustained physical injury at the hands of their parents and whose families were receiving social work treatment, mostly from the N. S. P. C. C. The children were all under 4 years old on referral, but by the time of this research a few were aged up to 6 years. The research was carried out in 1972-3 when there was still very little information on the effects of child abuse, and so the aims of the research were broadly based, It set out to investigate 2 main areas: levels of cognitive development, and the personal functioning of the child within his family, nursery and at play. Wherever possible comparisons were made with uninjured matched controls. The research instruments for the cognitive assessments were the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, the Stanford-Binet Form L-M, and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. The Family Relations Test was used to determine the child's perception of his position in the family, behaviour rating schedules were filled in by staff of a therapeutic nursery on each child and his mother, and a doll play sequence further investigated the child's reactions to various pretend domestic events. The results of the developmental tests showed that on referral most abused children were developmentally retarded, with those under 2 years of age receiving the lowest scores. After several years of treatment most achieved normal levels, with those children in a therapeutic nursery receiving the highest scores. The P. P. V. T. results were below the norm even after prolonged treatment, and therefore speech therapy is recommended in future treatment programmes. The Family Relations Test showed that abused children, particularly boys, had distorted relationships within their families, indicated by a low involvement with their mothers, and a tendency to deny hostility towards or from her. In contrast, their relationships with fathers and siblings seemed more realistic and affectionate. The doll play sequence suggested that abused children were more aggressive than their controls, while the schedules revealed behavioural problems in all children, which lessened, but did not cease, after a therapeutic nursery placement.