Children's Fears of War. Hearing Before the Select. Committee On
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 247 009 PS 014 461 TITLE -Children's Fears of War. Hearing before the Select. ,-, Committee on Chilcren, Youth, and Families. House of Representatives, Ninety-Eighth Congress, First Session. INSTITUTION Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. House Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families. PUB DATE 20 Sep 83 , NOTE 139p.; Small print would not reproduce well. AVAILABLE FROMSuperintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 (Stock No. 052-070-05913-3, $4.00). ,PUB TYPE Legal/Legislative/Regulatory Materials (090) EDRS PRICE MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available Irom EDRS. DESCRIPTORS *Affective Behavior; *Childhood Attitudes; *Childhood Needs; *Fear; Hearings; *Nuclear Warfare; Social Development; *Social Responsibility IDENTIFIERS Congress 98th ABSTRACT The hearing reported in this document was held to learn more about children's fears of war. Appearing before the committee were doctors, researchers, and child development experts whose testimony focused on what children worry about, the changing nature of children's fears of war, and the implications of children's attitudes for parents and society. Also heard were children, youth, and parents who voiced their concerns about nuclear war. Incltded in the document are papers and research reports, includinij (I)an exploration, of some difficulties inherent in understanding possible effects of the threat of nuclear war on children, (2)a study of how children learn the principles of community, and (3) a study of children's responses to the nuclear arms debate. (RH) *********************************************************************** Reproductions_supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** CHILDREN'S FEARS OF WAR U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER iERICI This doconi,itt has been reproduced as C7 received tri" the per:arn or organization urittinatirir, it OMinor changes have been Made to improve reproduction duality . h." e Points Mavens Idled in this docu HEARING merit lia not necessarily represent official NIE .4 BEFORE THE position m PulICY (N) o SELECT COMMITTEE ON LA.! CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES . NINETY-EIGHTH CONGRESS ,FIRST SESSION 111.;ARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, D.C., SEPTEMBER 20, 1983 Printed for the use of the Select Committee on Children., Youth, and Families Q,,c) g:14 C.S. GOVERNMENT PRI NTI NG OFFICE WASHINGTON 195.1 For sale by the Soporintendent Documents, US. Governitiont Printing Oilier Washingtiin,1) 0. 2Olir2 4. SELECT COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN, YOUTH, ANDFAMILIES GEORGE MILLER, California,Chairman WILLIAM LEHMAN. Horida DAN MARRIOTT. Utah PATRICIA SCIIROEDER, Colorado HAMILTON FISH, JR..' New York LINDY BOGGS. Louisiana DAN COATS. Indiana MATTHEW F. McHUGIL New York THOMAS J. BLILEY, JR.. Virginia JERRY M. PAITERSON. California FRANK R. WOLF. Virginia BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland ;DAN BURTON, Indiana TED WEISS, New York NANCY L. JOHNSON, Connecticut BERYL ANTHONY, JR., Arkansas JOHN R. McKERNAN, JR.. Maine MICKEY LELAND, Texas BARBARA F. VUCANOVICIL Nevada BARBARA BOXER, California SANDER M. LEVIN, Michigan BRUCE A. MORRISON, Connecticut-- .HROYROW-L-A-NIVC-rt-orgite GERRY SIKORSKI, Minnesota ALAN WHEAT, Missouri COMMITTEE STAFF ALAN J. STONE,Staff Director and Counsel ANN ROSEWATER,Deputy Stall Director CHRISTINE ELLIOW-GROVES,Minority Staff Director ITSCOPY CONTENTS , A Page I fearing held in Washington, D.C., September 20, 1983 1 Statement of: Austin, Ursell, age Ili, Oakland, Calif 93 Bliley. lion. Thomas J., Jr.. a Representative in Congress from the State of Virginia 5 Elkind, David, chairman, Elliott Pearson Department of Child Study, Tufts University 52 Fiedler, Jessica. age 11, Muscatine, Iowa 28 Fiedler, Robert A., II, Muscatine, Iowa 2t Goldenring, .John M., M.D., staff physician, Loyola Marymount Universi- ty; Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics 55 (Afton, Robert Jay. M.D., foundations' fund Chair for research in psychia- try, professorship. Yale University School of Medicine till . Mack, John E., M.D., professor of psychiatry, Cambridge Hospital, liar- yard Medical School 42 Marriott, Hon. Dan, a Representative in Congress from the State of Utah 2 Orjuela, Gerald, age 12. Brooklyn, N.Y . 21 Prepared statements, letters, supplemental materials, et cetera: Adelson, Joseph, professor of lisychology. University of Michigan, pre- pared statementof loS "Adolescents and the Threat of Nuclear War: The Evolution of a Perspec- tivei from the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, April 29, 1983 95 Austin, Ursell, Oakland, Calif.. prepared statement of 95 Bliley, lion. Thomas J., a Representative in Congress from the State of V-i-rgimht-- "1 S-tw_11.1:_from_EducorincsDecemher_rE2, excerpt from 15 Opening statement of 8 -"The Psychological Effect of Nuclear War Courses," article entitled 11 "Too High a Price," from Bangor Daily News, June 10. 1983, an article entitled 1(1 Chandran, Rabin, Amherst. Mass., prepared statement of 92 Elkind, David, visiting scholar, Lincoln Filene Center, Tufts University, prepared statement of 54 Fiedler, Jessica, Muscatine, Iowa, prepared statement of 23 Fiedler, Robert A.. II, Muscatine, Iowa, prepared statement of 28 Goldenring, John M., M.D., MPH, MAP, SAM, staff physician: Loyola Man mount University, Los Angeles, Calif.; board certified pediatrician, certitwd specialist in adolescent medicine; Ronald M. Doctor, Ph. D., professor of psychology. California State University Northridge, North- ridge, Calif., prepared statement of GI Hogan, Robert, University of Tulsa,Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, "Children's Fears of War and What They Might Mean," article entitled 108 Johnson, Hod: Nancy, a Representative in Congress from the State of Connecticut, opening statement of 39 Leland, Hon. Mickey, a Representative in Congress, from the State of Texas, prepared statement of 120 Litton, Dr. Robert .Jay, foundations fund for research, professor of psychi- atry. Yale University, "School of Medicine, prepared statement of 71 Mack, .John E., M.D., professor of psychiatry, Cambridge Hospital, Har- vard Medical School. prepared statement of 47 Marriott, lion. Dan, a Representative in Congress from the State of Utah, _opening remarks of 92 4 Page Prepared statements, letters, supplementalmat, raContinued Orjuela, Gerald, Brooklyn, N.Y., prepared state 22 Patterson, Hon. Jerry M., a Representative in uu. n the State of California, opening statement of 121 "Rites of Passage," froni American Educator,sums ', article enti- tied 110 Schroeder, Hon. Patricia, a Representative in CongressL..1 the State of Colorado, opening statement of 121 "Threat in the Nuclear Age: Childrens', Responses tche Nuclear Arms Debate," article entitled 123 Vucanovich, lion. Barbara, a Representative in Com:0,s from the State of Nevada,"opetting statement of 92 3 CHILDREN'S FEARS OF WAR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1983 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SELECT COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES, Washington, D.C. The committee met, pursuant to call, at 9:18 a.m., in room 2212, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. George Miller (chairman of the committee) presiding. Members. present: Representatives Miller, Lehman, Schroeder, Boggs, Patterson, Boxer, Levin, Morrison, Rowland, Sikorski, Mar- riott, Fish, Coats, Bliley, Wolf, Burton Of Indiana, Johnson, McKer- ,nan, and Vucanovich. Staff present: Alan J. Stone, staff director and counsel; Ann Rosewater, deputy staff director; Judy Weiss, research assistant; Christine Elliott-Groves, minority staff director; Donald Kline, senior protessain51glaTf; and Joan. Godley, committee clerk." Chairman MILLER. The committee will come to order. The purpose of today's hearing is, to learn more about children's fears of war. In the last 6 months our committee has undertaken a systematic examination of the conditions in which our children, youth, and families live. We have been careful to look at trends as well. As a result, we know much more than when we beganabout where we are and where we are going with regard to family structure, to the changing workplace, to the effects of changing economic and budget priorities 'on the emotional and physical well-being of fami- lies, particularly children. Some of our findings have been deeply disturbing, particillarly those which' show a greater number of impoverished children and the declining number of resources available to them as they are growing up. Our, search for the best information, however, cannot and should not rest on demographic and economic data alone. Our efforts must alSo include a careful look at the attitudes current conditions have engendered in our children, youth, and families. Attitudes among children especially those reflecting anxiety over fundamental ques- tions of existence, should help us better understand their behavior, their hopes, and their aspirations. Unfortunately, because their parents often' are fearful, and be- cause they read 'the newspapers and watch television, children are aware of the horrible possibilities of modern warfare. We have already heard from some of these children at our first hearing. Reed Claxton, age 11, summarized the concerns expressed in- 40,000 letters delivered by Save the Children to the President. (I) 9 He said, "One of the five things that concerns us most is atomic weapoos." Camp Fire. Inc., formerly Camp Fire.Girls, has passed a resolution promoting study groups on nuclear