Three Problem Children: Narratives from the Case Records of a Child Guidance Clinic: (Publication No. 2, Joint Committee on Methods of Preventing Delinquency, New York, 1924. Pp. 146.)

This volume aims at indicating by concrete case material some of the resources at our command in attempting to deal with the maladjustments of childhood. While it is addressed primarily to 'social workers, school teachers, probation officers, public health nurses and parents', disclaiming the degree of technical discussion that psychiatrists and psychiatric workers might desire, it is a document replete with human interest to be read with profit by all those concerned with the psychology of childhood. The behavior difficulties of three children are reported showing the method of investigation, the data obtained, and the special technique used to correct the problems, social and educational, which these children presented. The cases are quite representative of the types that require guidance because of behavior abnormalities evidenced at home and in school. Very briefly, the method of handling these cases consisted of a careful study of the circumstances of each, after which the psychiatrist instituted definite measures changing certain conditions in the child and others in the child's environment. Gratifying results were obtained. While the approach to these cases was essentially a situational one, the influence of psycho-analytic principles in determining some of the measures used is unmistakable.