Children that experience maltreatment during early development have been shown to experience a wide range of social, emotional and psychological sequelae (Kaufman et al., 1989). The research from Flynn et al. (2014) focused on the effects of maltreatment throughout early-mid and mid-late adolescence. The study focused on low self-worth, low relationship quality, internalization and externalization of symptoms (i.e. depression and physical aggression, respectively) within a developmental-organizational context. Developmental-organizational perspective encompasses the development of human behavior throughout various stages of life, particularly in adolescence. Childhood maltreatment includes a broad range of types, including emotional and physical; studies have concluded that forms of maltreatment result in low self-worth and cause children to be prone to have poor relationships throughout their lives. The researchers hypothesized that mistreatment in early childhood would be a predictor for low self-worth, low quality relationships, and internalization and externalization of symptoms in early development, additionally causing cross-lagged effects in late development, and finally be a mediator for these symptoms to carry on from early-mid into mid-late adolescence. In order to do this, the researchers assessed individuals twice during adolescence, with two years between one another, to understand whether symptoms persisted through developmental stages. .
The methodology of this study consisted of a "multiwave investigation", in which subjects were assessed three times. Sequentially, subjects were assessed during childhood (7-9 years), early-mid adolescence (13-15 years), and mid-late adolescence (15-18 years). This structure allowed the researchers to identify mistreatment in childhood, and assess if the effects of maltreatment continued on through the development of the individual.
