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Crisis of Family Disorganization:
Book Reviews
735
,compr~~en:
Not' surprisinglYi'thestatistics :argue persuasivelyfor . siveservices' centered preferably in community centers rather than ·categorical services for familieswich hospitalized patents. The statis~ ·tics point to the valueofhaving Grisis workers available toreach into the community atthe first hint of trouble. Confidentiality, qua confidentiality, is Challenged where competing agencies might bettershare, more freely .ina.common pursuit of serving the troubled family. Coordinatedsocial, health.vand-educationalefforts ,reaching" into the. home, community, and school are neededwhere there is a psychoric parent, '"
",
.
..' '
. '
'."
'
.'
..
. Afew surprising conclusionsemerge. Children from. one-parent ·families with a separated' or disturbed parent do better in school than those from two-parent homes with one separated parent.iChildren from the one-parent homes.have fewer neurotic problems but perhaps more behavioral difficulties. Children from homes with a sick father are more likely to be neurotic than those from homes with a sickrnotherr.No conjectures are offered regarding the meaning of these findings. ..' ,'. We have carefully documented for us in this book what we have suspected, that we are all going to have to care a lot if we want to practice good preventive psychiatry in our cities. As the authors suggest, a sensible start might include spaces on state hospital admission forms requesting informationaboutthe children left at home. CRISIS OF FAM;iLY DISORGANIZATION: PROGRI\,MS TO SOFTEN THEIR IMPACT ON CHILDREN. Edited by Eleanor Pavenstedt and Viola W. Bernard. New York: Behavioral Publications, 1971, 103 pp., $5.95
Reviewed by Milton S. Glatt, M.D. This volume contains papers that were originally presented in one of the workshops given at the New York State Fifth Biennial Division Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, held in New York City in November, 1967. The overall title for the program was: "Social Crisis and the Psychiatrist." The contributors of these collected papers are professional persons of national. repute, who have devoted a great deal of their profes, Dr. Glatt is at the Children's Hospital of D.C., Hillcrest Children's Center, Wash. ington, D.C.
736
Book Reviews
sional lives to the problems under discussion. Their papers appear under these subheadings: "Par en ts with Mental Illness," "Parents Under Unmanageable Stress," and "Programs to Assist Parents." Eleanor Pavenstedt has written an introduction for each section. .The collection and publication of these papers in one volume makes readily available to child psychiatrists and others concerned with the well-being of ch ildr en studies that give a clear picture of what is involved in providing comprehensive community mental health services. The papers themselves are not long and are easily read (and not encumbered with statistics, charts, and graphs) . The bibliographies are useful for those wishing to do further reading on the subjects and studies mentioned. PREJUDICE IN CHILDREN. Edited by Alan R. Brown. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C Thomas, 1972, 214 pp., $11.50
Reviewed by Paul L. A dams} M .D. Promising us solid information on how ethnic prejudices develop and can be modified in young people, Alan R. Brown of Arizona State University assembled 18 journal articles published from 1936 to 1963 into a casebook with an outdated flavor. The terminology ("colored" and "Negro," but never "black") gives us a quick indication of the archaism of the selections. Are we to conclude that nothing noteworthy has been published on children's race prejudices since 1963? Is the field as jaded as it appears in this book of old war-horses: an article from the '308, 3 from the '40s, 8 from th e '50s} and 6 from the '60s (1960- 1963)? Is it that the old ones are best , or has the subject lost psychological interest in recent years? What are civil rights and black power doing to childhood racism? It would seem that child psychiatry and child development research could contribute richly to the topic of children's racism (children's racist ideas, feelings, and deeds) , although heretofore child psychiatry has not looked at any form of racism very much. If racism has sometimes been regarded as a taboo topic, perhaps "times will be better" for such studies in the 1970s. Four articles from sociology journals, 6 from social psychology journals, 4 from psychology journals in other than "social" fields, 3 from educational journals, and 1 reprinted from an unnamed source: from these are derived the chapters of Prejudice in Children} and not Dr. Adams is at th e University of Florida at Gainesville, Florida.
735
,compr~~en:
Not' surprisinglYi'thestatistics :argue persuasivelyfor . siveservices' centered preferably in community centers rather than ·categorical services for familieswich hospitalized patents. The statis~ ·tics point to the valueofhaving Grisis workers available toreach into the community atthe first hint of trouble. Confidentiality, qua confidentiality, is Challenged where competing agencies might bettershare, more freely .ina.common pursuit of serving the troubled family. Coordinatedsocial, health.vand-educationalefforts ,reaching" into the. home, community, and school are neededwhere there is a psychoric parent, '"
",
.
..' '
. '
'."
'
.'
..
. Afew surprising conclusionsemerge. Children from. one-parent ·families with a separated' or disturbed parent do better in school than those from two-parent homes with one separated parent.iChildren from the one-parent homes.have fewer neurotic problems but perhaps more behavioral difficulties. Children from homes with a sick father are more likely to be neurotic than those from homes with a sickrnotherr.No conjectures are offered regarding the meaning of these findings. ..' ,'. We have carefully documented for us in this book what we have suspected, that we are all going to have to care a lot if we want to practice good preventive psychiatry in our cities. As the authors suggest, a sensible start might include spaces on state hospital admission forms requesting informationaboutthe children left at home. CRISIS OF FAM;iLY DISORGANIZATION: PROGRI\,MS TO SOFTEN THEIR IMPACT ON CHILDREN. Edited by Eleanor Pavenstedt and Viola W. Bernard. New York: Behavioral Publications, 1971, 103 pp., $5.95
Reviewed by Milton S. Glatt, M.D. This volume contains papers that were originally presented in one of the workshops given at the New York State Fifth Biennial Division Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, held in New York City in November, 1967. The overall title for the program was: "Social Crisis and the Psychiatrist." The contributors of these collected papers are professional persons of national. repute, who have devoted a great deal of their profes, Dr. Glatt is at the Children's Hospital of D.C., Hillcrest Children's Center, Wash. ington, D.C.
736
Book Reviews
sional lives to the problems under discussion. Their papers appear under these subheadings: "Par en ts with Mental Illness," "Parents Under Unmanageable Stress," and "Programs to Assist Parents." Eleanor Pavenstedt has written an introduction for each section. .The collection and publication of these papers in one volume makes readily available to child psychiatrists and others concerned with the well-being of ch ildr en studies that give a clear picture of what is involved in providing comprehensive community mental health services. The papers themselves are not long and are easily read (and not encumbered with statistics, charts, and graphs) . The bibliographies are useful for those wishing to do further reading on the subjects and studies mentioned. PREJUDICE IN CHILDREN. Edited by Alan R. Brown. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C Thomas, 1972, 214 pp., $11.50
Reviewed by Paul L. A dams} M .D. Promising us solid information on how ethnic prejudices develop and can be modified in young people, Alan R. Brown of Arizona State University assembled 18 journal articles published from 1936 to 1963 into a casebook with an outdated flavor. The terminology ("colored" and "Negro," but never "black") gives us a quick indication of the archaism of the selections. Are we to conclude that nothing noteworthy has been published on children's race prejudices since 1963? Is the field as jaded as it appears in this book of old war-horses: an article from the '308, 3 from the '40s, 8 from th e '50s} and 6 from the '60s (1960- 1963)? Is it that the old ones are best , or has the subject lost psychological interest in recent years? What are civil rights and black power doing to childhood racism? It would seem that child psychiatry and child development research could contribute richly to the topic of children's racism (children's racist ideas, feelings, and deeds) , although heretofore child psychiatry has not looked at any form of racism very much. If racism has sometimes been regarded as a taboo topic, perhaps "times will be better" for such studies in the 1970s. Four articles from sociology journals, 6 from social psychology journals, 4 from psychology journals in other than "social" fields, 3 from educational journals, and 1 reprinted from an unnamed source: from these are derived the chapters of Prejudice in Children} and not Dr. Adams is at th e University of Florida at Gainesville, Florida.