involved ever read or were interested in comic books. A finul example of the improper use of extrancous material is the statement in the Collier's articie that "Children's Court records show that delinquent youngsters are almost 5 years retarded in reading ability," and Wertham is quoted as saying that "children who don't read well tend to delinquency." These statements are unsupported, but even if true, there is not a scintilla of evidence that the reading retardation or disability of delinquents is due to reading comics. It is quite likely that the percentage of reading disability among delinquents was equally high or higher befere the comic book was invented. Asa matter of fact there are in this article no data which could be accepted by any person trained in research without documentation.
Wertham asserts that the content of the comics is almost universally one of crime, violence, horror, "emphasis of sexual characteristics" which "can lead to erotic fixations of all kinds," and "sadistic-masochistic mixture of pleasure and violence." Of the millions of comic books which Wertham claims deal with crime nnd brutality, he is content te rest his case on the selection of a few extreme and offensive examples which he makes no attempt to proye ure typical. No systematic inventory of comic bovk content is presented, such as that compiled by Edgar Dale for the movies in 1935[1] Without such an inyentory these conjectures are prejudiced and worthless
Wertham's major claims rest only on a few selected and extreme cases of children's deviate behaviar where it is said the comics haye played an important role in producing delinquency. Although Wertham has Gaimed in his varions writing that he and his associates huve studied thonsands of children, normal ard devinte, rich and pvor, gifted aud mediocre, he presents no statistical summary of his investigations. Ie makes no attempt to substantiate that his illustrative cases are in any way typical of ali delinquents who read eomics, or that the delinguents wha do not read the comics do not commit similar types of offenses, He claims to use control groups (nondelinguents) but he does uot describe these controls, how they were set up, how they were equated with his experimental groups (delinquents) to assure that the difference in incidence of comic-book reading, if any, was due to anything more thas a selective process brought about by the purticular area in which he was working.
The way in wlich Wertham and his associates studied his cases is also open to question. The development of case studies as scientific data is a highly technical procedure snd is bnsed on long experience umong social scientisis mn anthropolegy, psychology, and sociology.[2] An adequate case study, which involves much more than a few interviews, gives a complete perspective of the subject's biological, psychological, and social developmeut, for only in this maimer can a single factor such as comic-book reading be put in its proper place in the interacting complex of behavior-determining factors.[3] On the basis of the materials presented by Wertham with reference to children's expericnee with the comics, itis doubtful if he bas met the requirements of scientific case study or the eriteria for handling life history materials. He does not deseribe his techniques or show haw they were sei up so as lo safeguard his findings aguinst invalid couclusions.
Were the subjects he interviewed studied with the same meticulous cure employed by a Healy or a Shaw? Did be get complete data on them? Were the Gireumsiances surrounding the interviews such that the subjects gave honest answers to the questions asked by Wertham and his associates? Were safeguards set up to control individual differences in the interview techniques of the eleyen different investigators? Even if it is assumed that such subjects will or Can give & correct picture of the role of the comics in their lives, how are we- ↑ Edgar Dale, The Content of Motion Pictures, New York: Macmillan. 1936.
- ↑ See Paul Horst et al., The Prediction of Personal Adinstment, New York: Social Science Research Counsel, 1941, expecially The Precliction of Individual Gehatior Prom Case Studies, pp. 183-249; Gordon W. Allport, The Use of Personal Documents in Psychologieal Science, New York: Social Science Research Cauneil. 1942; and Louis Gottschalk, SS: Kluckholm and Robert Angell, The Use of Personal Decumentse in Uistory, Anthropology ani Sociology. New York: Social Science Research Council, 1945.
- ↑ Examples of case studies are to be found in the earlier studies of William Tlealy and Augnsta If, Bronner In Case Studies, Series I, Nos. 1-20, Boston ; Judge Gaker Foundation, 1923, and in the more complete studies of Clifford KR. Shaw et al, The Juckratler, The Natural History of a Delinquent Career, and Brothers in Crime. Chicago: University of Chicago. 1930, 1931, and 1938.
Frederic M. Thrasher is professor of education at New York University, member of the Attorney General's Conference on Juvenile Delinquency, former secretary of the Society for the Prevention of Crime, on the board of directors of the National Board of Review, and author of The Gang.
