Personality Development and Deviation. A Textbook for Social Workers: Edited by George H. Wiedeman, M.D. and Sumner Matison, M.A. New York: International Universities Press, Inc., 1975. 523 pp.

This introductory textbook for social workers and those in allied professions grew out of the psychiatric curriculum at the Columbia University School of Social Work: Wiedeman, who is the Chairman of the Columbia program, felt the need to have in one volume a

coherent presentation of the theoretical and practical issues which confront those engaged in the field of social work. The contributors, most of whom have participated in the program, are well known. While interested in theoretical issues, they have also had extensive clinical experience.

The thesis of the book is that despite other attempts to understand human behavior, the Freudian perspective is the most valuable and fruitful. The frame of reference of all the contributors is established in the first three chapters by the editor's outline of the main points of psychoanalytic theory. The chapters that follow can be divided into several groups. A series of chapters deals with normal and pathological development from infancy to senescence. There is a group which discusses symptom formation and one concerned with personality disorders, including drug addiction, sexual deviation, psychosomatic difficulties, and problems of the borderline patient. Psychoses of children and adults are discussed as are learning disorders, mental retardation, psychological testing, and community psychiatry.

Although the orientation is psychoanalytic, the emphasis on the intrapsychic is supplemented by the inclusion of other pertinent matters. The effects of constitutional endowment, neurological deficit and dysfunction, and social factors on personality development and behavior are appropriately considered. A variety of treatment approaches is suggested and the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation is stressed.

This volume accomplishes its task of presenting a comprehensive view of the understanding and evaluation of behavior. It will be of value to persons who work with individuals, groups, and communities. It is a