Male roles in families "at risk": the ecology of child maltreatment.

Research on child development has increasingly emphasized the complexity of developmental processes, and this reconceptualization is reflected in recent research on the effects of child maltreatment as well. The articles in this special issue illustrate the value of studying maltreatment in the context of children's relationships, not only with their biological mothers, but with biological fathers and father figures as well. Ambiguities remain, however, suggesting that we need to know much more about the quality and longevity of the relationships between these men and both their partners and surrogate children to understand their roles and impact more fully.