Abstract
This paper describes the various traumatic components of the child abuse syndrome and explores their impact on the psychopathology, cognitive impairment, and developmental sequelae observed in abused children. The child abuse syndrome consists of two broad categories of trauma: the acute physical and psychological assault confronting the child with the threat of annihilation is superimposed upon the long-term traumatic components resulting from chronic abnormal parenting such as harsh, punitive child rearing, scapegoating, and maternal deprivation. Central nervous system impairment, which is frequently associated with child abuse, may be regarded as an additional source of trauma which potentiates the pathological impact of the acute and long-term components of the abusive environment. Most abused children exhibit the characteristic symptoms of the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder described in DSM-III.
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