Page:1954 Juvenile Delinquency Testimony.pdf/93

Rh Dr. . I have practiced psychiatry and neurology since 1922. LTtaught psychiatry and brain pathology and worked in clinics at the Johus Hopkins Medical School fram 192° to 1929,

In 1929 TF was the first psychiatrist to be awarded a fellowship by the Nationa] Research Council to do research on the brain. Some part of my research at that tine was on paresis and brain syphilis. Tt came in good stend when I came to study comic books,

From 19532 to 1052 T was senior psychitrist at the New York City Departinent of Hospitals.

I was first in charge of the Psyehiatrie Clinic of the Court of Gen- eral Sessions examining convicled felons, making reports to the court.

Tn 1936 I was appointed director of the Menta) Ikygiene Clinic in Bellevue,

Tn 1989 I was appointed director of psychiatric services at the Menfal Hygiene Clinie at Queens General Hospital.

In 1946 I organized and started the first psychiatric clinic in Har- lem, a volunteer staff. A few yeurs Jater I organized the Quaker Emergency Mental Hygiene Chnic, which functioned as a clinic for the treatment of sex offenders wider the magistrates court of New York.

These are my main qualifications. J have taught psychiatry in Hopkins and New York University.

have written both books and papers and monographs. I have reviewed psychiatrie books for legal journals, hke the Bufialo School Journal.

T have lectured at the Yale Law School, at the Massachusetts Tnsti- tute of Technolowy, and in other places.

I am a fellow of the New York Academy and a member of the three national neuropsychiatric associations, the American Psychiatric Association and American Neurological Association and American Associntion of Neuropathologists,

I am testifying at your request on the influence of crime and horror books on juvemle delinquency.

My tesfhnony will beim fonr parts. First, what is in comic books? How can one classify them clinically?

Secondly, are there any bad effects of comic books?

I may say here on this subject there is practically no controversy. Anybody who has studied them and seen them knows that some of them have bad effects.

The third problem is how farreaching are these bad effects? There is a good deal of controversy about that.

A fourth part is: Is there any remedy?

And being merely a doctor, about that I shall say only a few words.

My opinion is based on clinical investigations which I started in the winter of 1915 and 1946. They were carried out not by me alone, but with the help of a group of associates, psychiatrists, child psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, social workers, psychiatric social workers, remedial reading teachers, probation officers, and others.

In addition to material seen at the clinic both at Queens and Lafargue, we have studied whole school classes, whole classes of remedial reading clinics, over 800 children in a parochial school and private patients and consultations.

To the best of my knowledge our study is the first and only individual large-scale study on the subject of comic books in general.