Preliminary Report on Children's Reactions to the War. Including a Critical Survey of the Literature
Ithaca, New York: Cornell University, College of Medicine, 1942. First edition. Softcover. Octavo. 92, 10pp. Original white wraps with black lettering on cover.
As a result of the German aerial assault on Great Britain at the beginning of the Second World War, British authorities decided to transfer children from their families to foster families for their safety and to allow their parents to enlist in the war effort. This publication is a critical study of the psychological impact on those children. The studies were executed by British as well as American writers, psychologists and psychiatrists and included some six thousand and seven hundred children.
The introduction to the report explains: "For the past five years studies of personality development in normal young children have been carried out at the Payne Whitney Nursery School under the auspices of Cornell University Medical School. The method of investigation has been described briefly in a previous publication (by J. Louise Despert). From these systematically collected data various aspects of the young child's behavior can be studied. For instance, an exhaustive study of anxiety and fears in normal young children was initiated. Fifteen records have been examined and analyzed according to a scheme which is described at length on pages 43, 44, 45. With the advent of the entrance of the United States into the war, it might be expected that anxiety would be aroused in children as well as the general population. It became timely to study specific reactions to war stimulus in children who already had been subjects of investigation or were at present being studied in the Nursery School setup."
The chapters include critical surveys of English and American literature on the subject, a general study of anxiety and fears, including family history and relationships, developmental and training factors, fears in concrete situations, fears in fantasy situations, etc., a special study of children's reactions to the war, including description of methods and findings. Contains extensive bibliography at rear.
Wraps with some rubbing and very light creasing. Front cover with bold black marker line above publication date. King's College stamps on inside front cover. Black marker lines at top. Good condition. Item #55398
Price: $450.00