Page:1954 Juvenile Delinquency Testimony.pdf/166

154 werewolf. What effect would that have ona child who is awaitmg foster placement, or who has been in foster placement ?

Dr. . Mr. Clendenen has told me about that, too, and, after all, he is a social worker who has dealt with the placement of foster children, I wondered, after all, at the kind of imagination, if I can apologize in advance, that would conceive of anyone giving such a comic to such a ehilel under such circumstances,

The chance of its happening, of course, is infinitesimally smal), and T think the eluld would only read it provided it was held down and the thing was read to it forcibly.

Even then, I think if he was anywhere near a wholesome child he would laugh at the situation and probably after looking at the foster mother when he got in the place and finding she did not look like a werewolf, he might say, "Well, you are not even a werewolf after all." or something like that.

Mr. . But the child awaiting foster placement has a number of normal fears?

Dr. . Certainly.

Mr. . So that is fair game, practically, for such a child?

Dr. . That is true.

Mr. . Now, what about the efleet of the crime and horror eomies on a hostile child. Could he poxstbly find suggestions and also support for doing some of these things?

In other words, he sees it there and he is going to do 1t.

The. Did counsel use the word "hostile"?

Mr. . Hostile.

Dr. . You asked me could he?

Of eonrse, he could, but T do not know of a single instance in which it has oceurred. I wonld also say this, that a hostile child who is committing such erimes, even if he was one of those collecting crime books, collecting comic books of all types and carrying them around with him, does uot usually take time out to go into the library or to find a reading place to sit down and study these books.

It is conceivable, and J am sure if enongh research work is done, sooner or later someone or other can find an ineident in which a child ean be got to say that be gol the idea from such and such a comic book.

1 would not doubt but that maybe 10 cases could be found in the United States.

But if yau then satd to the child, "Did you ever see such a thing on elevizion or movies?" or "Did you ever hear abont it anywhere else, too?"well, the situation obviously hecomes less specific.

Mr. . We have heard this, and I do not know at this point from what souree: Would you consider that excessive reading of crime and horror comics is symptomatic of emotional maladjustineut ? Does that indicate something might be wrong?

Dr. . Yes; I would say that.

Mr. . If you came on a child who is devouring this stuff day and night?

Dr. . Well, let me be even a bitmaybe I should not be as personal as this. As I say, I had 3 children whose father was violently killed when the youngest one was a week old, in an automobile accident, not in a gang war, and these 3 children have that problem. How can such things happen?