Who is Dr. Laura, he asks
Submitted by Heather on May 11 1999 at 23:44:41
In reply to Heather's info Submitted by Mark on May 11 1999 at 21:51:43
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You have been out of touch with BC, haven't you? :) Okay, for those of you who don't stay in touch with current events, here's the run-down: Last summer the American Psychological Association published in its Bulletin a meta-analysis (a particular type of analysis of previous studies) of child sexual abuse studies that drew upon interviews with and tests of college students who had sexual contact with adults when they were children. The Rind report suggested that previous studies had overemphasized the pervasiveness of child sexual abuse. The people at BoyChat and SafeHaven went wild with joy. The rest of the world ignored the study. In December the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, a group of researchers and psychologists who believe that homosexuality is a mental illness, took note of the study. This isn't surprising; for years NARTH has been maintaining that there's a connection between homosexuality and pedophilia, and this study proved to their satisfaction that pedophilia was being "normalized" in the same way that homosexuality has been. NARTH wrote a scathing article condemning the study. The rest of the world ignored the article. In a clear sign of where power rests today, it took a radio personality to bring this matter to the attention of the world. Dr. Laura spoke about it in one of her programs, and the next thing you knew, articles were appearing all over the place about this shocking new development. All of the articles, of course, quoted the study quite selectively (just as the people at BC and SH had been doing). The American Psychological Association issued a press release which basically tried to water down the revolutionary elements of the Rind report. Naturally, the politicians had to get into the act. First an Alaskan state congressman put forward a bill asking that the Alaskan congress call upon Clinton to condemn the report, then the Family Research Council (a conservative group) managed to round up three indignant congressmen as well as other assorted people opposed to pedophilia. Tomorrow is their press conference; rumor has it that the press conference will be carried on C-SPAN, but I haven't been able to track down when. In the meantime (take a deep breath), NARTH's accusations had caused an old dispute to arise over the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, issued by the American Psychiatric Association (not the Psychological Association) to guide psychiatrists in diagnosing mental illness in their patients. Homosexuality was listed in the second edition of that manual. In the third edition, it was listed as an ego-dystonic disorder – that is to say, the APA only considered homosexuality a problem if it caused distress to the person with the condition. In the fourth edition of the manual, homosexuality was dropped. What happened with pedophilia is that, in the fourth edition, the APA changed the definition of all of the paraphilias (including pedophilia) so that, to some observers, it appears that the paraphilias are now ego-dystonic – that is to say, if being a pedophile doesn't cause you distress, you're not mentally ill. Since the publication of the fourth edition, the APA has been hotly denying the charge that it considers pedophilia to be ego-dystonic. Following the publicity over the NARTH article, the APA issued a press release denying this once more. Got that straight? There'll be a test afterwords. Here are the relevant links: Safe Haven's Academic Research Papers – summaries of Rind's research Pedophiles Argue Their Case in the Journal of Homosexuality – an earlier article by NARTH The Problem of Pedophila – NARTH's article on the Rind report Statement on Childhood Sexual Abuse – the American Psychological Association's press release on the Rind controversy American Psychiatric Association Pedophilia Fact Sheet – a pdf file that includes the DSM-IV definition DSM-IV Definition of Pedophilia Psychiatrists Appalled by Inaccuracy of Congressional Pedophilia Statement – the press release from the American Psychiatric Association Dr. Laura Schlessinger, FRC, and Child Protection Advocates to Call on APA to Renounce Study on Pedophilia – news of the press conference Heather |