Review of Child psychiatry

Abstract

Reviews the book, Child psychiatry by Leo Kanner (1935). In the preface of this book the author makes this statement, "The present volume, which is the first text-book of child psychiatry in the English language, is offered in an attempt to cover the entire field of children's personality disorders on a broad, objective, unbiased, and practical basis." The modesty of this claim may be questioned but the work itself goes far to support it. The personality problems of children are divided into three large groups. First, those which are essential features of, or sequelae to, physical illness, mainly comprising the neuropathies and endocrinopathies. Secondly, those which are expressed as involuntary part-dysfunctions, including symptomatic behavior associated with the chief physio-anatomical systems. Thirdly, those which are expressed as whole-dysfunctions of the individual, including the major conduct disorders, mental and emotional inadequacies, and psychotic conditions. The reviewer predicts that this will be the standard text in child psychiatry for some time to come, and it may be a helpful stimulant to the efforts to get work in this field placed in the medical curriculum. Certainly no one who is working with problem children can afford not to read this book. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)