Eugene B. Piedmont

Book Reviews : SCHIZOPHRENICS IN THE COMMUNITY: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY IN THE PREVENTION OF HOSPITALIZATION. By Benjamin Pasamanick, Frank R. Scarpitti and Simon Dinitz. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1967. Pp. 448. Price,

THE ADOLESCENT GIRL IN CONFLICT. By Gisela Konopka. Prentice-Hall Inc., Spectrum Book, 1966. Pp. 177. Price,

8.00

1.95. &dquo;We are all responsible&dquo; is the final thought Dr. Gisela Konopka, Professor of Social Work at the University of Minnesota, leaves with the reader in her &dquo;in depth&dquo; study of adolescent delinquent girls. In an effort to understand what in their developmental process made these particular girls especially vulnerable during adolescence, Dr. Konopka conducted a series of individual interviews and group discussions both within and outside institutions for delinquent girls. They ultimately gave her freely their &dquo;own story&dquo; and these in turn she presents in this short, interesting volume. Their literary efforts, some especially touching, are also included, as well as recordings from their group discussions. Dr. Konopka, as a result of this study, is especially concerned with the social and psychological forces that help distort these girls’ lives, most of them from lower socio-economic groups, and with the callousness of a community which ignores their basic human needs. She found an appalling lack of sex education among them, especially severe reactions to the onset of puberty, serious trauma in their early life generally full of brutality, injustice and rejection, a serious low self-image among them, angry protests and rebellion against the prevailing double standard for sexual behavior which still exists, and an overwhelming sense of isolation and loneliness they feel which cries out to the community to acknowledge their individuality and to reach out to them. But the community Dr. Konopka describes neither cares nor wishes to recognize their existence. Many recommendations are offered. She wants a new approach to unmarried mothers who are also delinquents, she demands the transformation of training schools to restore rather than tear down the girls’ self-esteem, she advocates greater use of social group work with them and insists all services to delinquent girls be re-examined. More important, however, is her concern for a re-examination of the social status of the lower economic group girls where there is no tradition of preparing by education for careers. Thus, they have only the dream they will live a different life from their hardworking mothers by making a good marriage to escape the underpaid labor as waitresses, factory workers and servants, the only occupations open to them if they are not to turn to prostitution.

Book Reviews : THE MENTAL PATIENT COMES HOME. By Howard E. Freeman and Ozzie G. Simmons. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1963. Pp. 309. Price,

tial material in three of the best-developed fields of the subjects: learning, perception and remembering. And it does not neglect carefully chosen contributions from less developed areas such as thinking, emotion and social psychology. No set of selections can satisfy everybody, but this is very much better than most. It is excellent value at 28s. and it is packed with interesting information for the psychologist and the psychiatrist.

7.95

concerns himself with such perennials as measurement and error in psychology, the role of introspection, historical and individual determinism, and creativity in science. Finally, shed of his theoretical garb, Boring addresses himself to such important issues as the graduate training of psychologists and the role of the woman in psychology. The reviewer unequivocally recommends this book, certainly to all psychologists, but also to those social scientists who want a reasonably representative sample of some of the more important thoughts and insights of one of the greatest contributors to the science of psychology. NORMAN SOLKOFF

Book Reviews : THE DOCTOR AND HIS PATIENT: A SOCIOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION. By Samuel W. Bloom. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1963. Pp. 270. Price,

By Robert N. Rapoport (with the collaboration of Rhona Rapoport and Irving Rosow). London: Tavistock Publications, and Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas, 1960. Pp. 325. Price,

4.50

9.75. This study, based on four years of participant observation, is both a critical evaluation of the Social Rehabilitation Unit at Belmont Hospital (near London) and a meticulous analysis of the concept &dquo;therapeutic community&dquo;; undoubtedly, the latter is its primary value. As the first fruits of milieu therapy are being reaped, the assumptions underlying actions and decisions within the therapeutic community are examined by demonstrating differences between treatment-oriented activities and rehabilitationoriented activities. Although these two processes are, in fact, frequently conducted simultaneously, failure to separate them analytically and conceptually results in ditficulties of the type delineated by Stanton and Schwartz. Treatment goals and rehabilitation goals may be in conflict in some circumstances, and Dr. Rapoport suggests paying greater attention to the &dquo;immediate aims&dquo; of any specific staffpatient interaction as a means of minimizing such problems. The assumption, frequently implied but seldom recognized, that treatment in and adjustment to the hospital or ward environment is automatically rehabilitation to the larger community, is questioned. Freeman and Simmons have studied this same problem in The Mental Patient Comes Home and also advocate distinguishing treatment from rehabilitation.

Book Reviews : COMMUNITY AS DOCTOR: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON A THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITY. By Robert N. Rapoport (with the collaboration of Rhona Rapoport and Irving Rosow). London: Tavistock Publications, and Springfield, Illi nois: Charles C. Thomas, 1960. Pp. 325. Price,

can hardly expect, therefore, that a definitive text can be written at this time. The Handbook of Medical Sociology, however, is a splendid approximation to such a text and far surpasses the usual expectation for &dquo;handbooks&dquo;. The editors have taken the position that medical sociology is an applied specialty, capable of substantive definition, having its conceptual and theoretical roots in general sociology. Accordingly, the majority of the twenty-five contributing authors are sociologists; the minority who are M.D.s are associated primarily with departments of public health, as, for that matter, are several of the Ph.D. contributors. Thus the topic is viewed from &dquo;both sides of the fence&dquo;, with a good deal of insight, critical suggestion and caution issuing from both directions. The nineteen substantive chapters are classified into four major divisions, preceded by an insightful introductory chapter on contributions of sociology to medicine and a scholarly review of the evolution of social medicine. The first major section, &dquo;The Sociology of Illness&dquo;, consists of four excellent chapters dealing with social factors in chronic illness, social psychological factors in more general illness, health problems peculiar to addictive diseases, and mental illness. Section Two, &dquo;Practitioners, Patients and Medical Settings&dquo;, discusses medical education, nursing, interpersonal relations in medical settings, patient-practitioner relations specifically, and limited, marginal and quasi-practitioners. &dquo;The Sociology of Medical Care&dquo;, the third division of the handbook, includes articles on the organization of medical practice, community aspects of health organizations, utilization of health services, community public health, and cross-cultural perspectives on medical care. Section Four, &dquo;Strategy, Methods and Status of Medical Sociology&dquo;, is a straightforward evaluation of &dquo;where we stand, where do we go from here and how do we go about it&dquo;. General strategy is discussed and some specific methods reviewed. The three editors conclude with a sobering chapter that assesses risks involved by the sociologist in the medical environment, with suggestions on how to avoid them. The book concludes with a thorough Bibliography, over a hundred pages in length, on &dquo;Social Research in Health and Medicine&dquo;. The handbook has avoided the tendency, common to compendia, simply to reprint already published works, or else present up-dated versions of the authors’ previous publications. All the articles contained herein are original. Each is abundantly documented, thereby becoming a significant resource for that area. There is also a consistent quality between the articles, the overall level being quite superior. Although the utility of the handbook is greatest for sociologists in the field, health practitioners and medical scientists of other orientations will also find this

9.75

own specific aetiology, Martin has devoted this small volume to the study of vandalism, a relatively neglected area of delinquency investigation. He distinguishes three types of vandalism-predatory, vindictive, and wanton. Vandals also are of three types-disturbed, sub-cultural, and essentially law-abiding. Comparing vandals with other delinquents, Martin found that vandals are more likely to be younger, male, white, and come from families characterized by hostility, parent-child conflict, and less spatial mobility. Little difference in socio-economic distribution was found between vandals and other

Book Reviews : THE HANDBOOK OF MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY. Edited by Howard E. Freeman, Sol Levine and Leo G. Reeder. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1963. Pp. 602. Price,

The course developed by Dr. MacGregor was thirty hours in length and consisted of lectures, discussions, selected readings and special assignments. One half of the course was presented at the end of the students’ first year, the other half at the beginning of their second year. This coincided with the students’ first clinical assignments and was so designed to make the course more meaningful as students could directly apply their knowledge in actual practice. The material presented focused attention on the following: concept of culture; sub-cultures and social class; psychosocial aspects of physical disability and rehabilitation; authority; and value judgments. Evidence of how the students were applying their knowledge came from head nurses, supervisors, clinical instructors and doctors. In addition there were first-hand observations by the social scientist and written reports from the students. As there was no control group, exact value of the course cannot be evaluated. Dr. MacGregor believes that a nurse who is proficient in both social science skills and technical skills serves as an important liaison between doctor and patient, and as a result the patient’s physical and psychological needs will be fulfilled. As problems of communication, language, definition of r61e and others arise when social scientists and members of practising professions collaborate, the expectations of the nursing and medical professions from social science and social scientists must be clarified. This study shows implications for both nursing and medical education and should be of interest to educators and students in nursing, medicine and social science.

7.95

This is an intriguing title for an interesting book. Essentially it is an analysis of the process of learning, which is really a summation of the judgments made when certain situations are presented. The author discusses how emotion and preconceptions influence this judgment. Formal teaching consists of two impacts: first of the subject matter on the teacher and then of the teacher’s presentation of his own judgment on the student. Group discussion properly directed can do much to eliminate faults in the teacher and to make the student think instead of learning. It is not a new problem, but the author’s presentation is good and the examples are very interesting. The book is obviously the result of much thought and inquiry and some fundamental issues have been faced.