Child maltreatment poses a major public health risk has been consistently associated with the development of externalizing behavior problems throughout the previous literature. However, previous researchers have been hindered in their ability to explore the dimensions of this relationship because of poorly constructed data representations, limited access to samples, and inadequate data analytic strategies. The present study attempted to address these limitations using prospectively collected data from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) consortium. More specifically, 788 youth with complete data for the ages 4, 8, and 12 interviews were included in the present study. Data from official child maltreatment records of youth's experiences of emotional maltreatment, physical and sexual abuse, and supervisory and physical neglect were gathered. In addition, information about the youth's externalizing behavior problems was collected using the Child Behavior Checklist at ages 4, 8, and 12, and youth's symptoms and diagnoses of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and Conduct Disorder were collected from youth and their parents using a computerized version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children at age 14.

First, Latent Class Analyses (LCAs) were performed to identify unobserved groups of youth with similar patterns of allegations of each type of child maltreatment between the ages of 0-4, 4-8, and 8-12. Next, baseline LCAs were performed to identify unobserved groups of youth with similar patterns of externalizing behavior problems at ages 4, 8, and 12, and a Latent Transition Analysis (LTA) was performed to examine the probabilities that youth changed class membership between each time point. Diagnoses and symptom counts at age 14 were then added to the model as distal outcomes and gender was added as a covariate. Finally, the relationships between groups of youth with similar maltreatment experiences and groups of youth with similar externalizing behavior problems were examined. Patterns of child maltreatment experiences varied across developmental periods. However, consistent presentations of externalizing behavior problem presentations were identified across development. Males were more likely than females to transition to presentations with more physically aggressive behavior problems. Implications for research and clinical treatment are discussed.