Review of An Interdisciplinary Approach to Accident Patterns in Children

Reviews the book, An Interdisciplinary Approach to Accident Patterns in Children by Irwin M. Marcus, Wilma Wilson, Irvin Kraft, Delmar Swander, Fred Southerland, and Edith Schulhofer (1960). This is a report of a four-year investigation of four aspects of the accident pattern in children. The study is concerned with psychological, physical, and intrafamily factors, and the behavioral response involved. The accident pattern appeared to be a manifestation of disturbance analogous to a symptom such as enuresis, and was not related to a specific diagnostic category. The findings did not support the theory that accident behavior is 'unconscious suicide' or hostility turned inward and generated by revolt against inhibiting authoritative or punitive parents. The report includes a review of the literature, an account of the experimental process and an analysis of the findings. It is interesting as a pattern for research in relation to psychological factors, as a contribution to an aspect of behavior in children and the study of the family, and as an addition to the literature on accident proneness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)