Maltreatment and the Academic and Social Adjustment of School Children, 1987-1988

This study examined the effects of child abuse and neglect on academic achievement and social adjustment in the school setting. The data were derived from a population of 8600 children attending public schools (grades K to 12) in a small city in New York State between 1987 and 1988. From this population of children, 1239 were found to have been substantiated victims of abuse or neglect on at least one occasion. A stratified sampling procedure was employed to select a sample of maltreated children. The final sample selected for the study consists of 420 maltreated children and 420 matched controls from regular classrooms (i.e., not from special education classrooms). Children selected for the control group were matched by school, gender, grade in school, residential location, and when possible by classroom. The machine-readable data file contains 840 observations and 430 variables that describe maltreatment history, school behavioral problems, educational services received, and academic achievement. These variables were derived from social service and school records.