It was expected that 20 child-abusing mothers would score lower on a measure of Eriksonian developmental outcome than a carefully selected group of 20 nonabusing mothers. All mothers were administered a questionnaire designed to assess resolution of the first seven Eriksonian developmental stages. Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to test for significant differences while controlling for the effect of other factors which may have covaried with abusive or nonabusive status. Abusive mothers scored significantly lower on measures of the first six developmental stages. Implications and suggestions for research are discussed.
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