I would not consider the original statements by these folks lying. The
lying began after the real position of APA and the actual claims of the
article were known, but these individuals continued with the same false
claims.
Once you know that I did not say something, I consider it lying if you
continue to say that I said it. And that is what those folks have been
doing. I have not seen or heard of any of them saying, "Oops. I
misunderstood. I thought ...." For them to claim that through their
efforts APA was forced to change its position, when that is not the
case, is also a case of lying.
The kind of research you are suggesting is the sort of thing I would
hope for. If the debate leads to that kind of research, then at least
some good will have come out of it.
Jim Guinee wrote:
>
> > From: "John W. Nichols, M.A." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > Subject: Re: Effects of sexual abuse
> >
> > Individuals like Dr Laura, the congressmen, and others, as well as
> > groups like Family Research Council and other advocacy groups
> > misrepresenting the study authors's and APA's statements and positions on
> > the matter are doing no service to the people who have been harmed by
> > abuse. (I am glad my old English teacher is no longer around to read that
> > sentence!) They are certainly doing no service to those people (and I
> > believe that they are legion, if not the vast majority) who suffer no
> > significant harm, and especially no psychopathology, as a result of the
> > abuse experience. If I were to take off the gloves, and stop being so
> > darned PC, I would probably say that the real reason they are perpetuating
> > untruths (Oh, what the hell, they are lying!) is that they are advancing
> > their own self-interests.
>
> I still don't see how these folks are lying. I think a huge problem with a lot of
> these folks and groups is that they hear what they want to hear. Or they
> hear something that advances their interests and run with it without ever
> checking the validity of the story. This is foolish, but a lot of people seem to
> do it. I'm sure many of us spend time with students here and there
> "correcting" misinformation they have that they got from who knows where.
>
> Maybe I'm splitting hairs about the "lying" issue -- I see more hysterical
> behavior. When I first heard about the article, I got upset, and then thought
> "Whoa -- read it for yourself." I remember when "The Last Temptation of
> Christ" came out and a lot of Christians picketed it, many of whom had not
> seen the movie. So, I tried to be rational and see it for myself before I made
> any conclusions. I would say that Dr. Laura and others are doing something
> very common -- you hear something that supports your stance and you just
> take it and use it. I think that psychologists and other scientists should be
> less likely (hopefully) to do this because we know how findings and facts and
> stats get distorted and misinterpreted and (ok) misrepresented all the time.
>
> As far as the effects of sexual abuse, once again we have a study (Rind et
> al) that demonstrates the "uniformity myth" that exists in psychotherapy.
> Too often some therapists simply assume that trauma affects everyone
> equally. But it doesn't. Part of the challenge of research should be to
> investigate WHY some people are more affected by others. I've seen some
> clients sexually abused and develop themselves robustly despite this
> background. And I've seen clients that experience (IMHO) a little bit of
> trauma and it changes their whole lives. Clearly trauma cannot be playing
> much of a role here, eh?
>
> I'm not surprised that Rind et al found that some people do not experience
> The problem with some therapists is that they forget we see a skewed version
> of the population (with respect to something like sexual abuse). The people
> that see us have been affected by it, so of course we see it as
> awful. And it is FOR THOSE PEOPLE, but there are people
> walking around in the general community who experience much less effect.
> The Rind et al study is not surprising at all. I think some therapists have
> misinterpreted the results to mean "Abuse isn't as bad as we thought."
> No, no, no. Abuse does not (necessarily) a client make.
>
> And taking the position that some aren't affected much is in no way
> legitimizing sexual abuse, as some (dr laura) would have us believe.
> Nonsense. Perhaps the authors have come to that opinion, but we should
> not take that from the study.
>
> *************************************************************************
> Jim Guinee, Ph.D. Director of Training, Counseling Center
> Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Psychology/Counseling
> Dept. of Health Sciences
> President-Elect, Arkansas College Counselor Association
> University of Central Arkansas
> 313 Bernard Hall Conway, AR 72035
> (501) 450-3138 (office) (501) 450-3248 (fax)
>
> "Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
> teach a righteous man and he will increase in learning."
> Proverbs 9:9
> ************************************************************************
--
----------==========>>>>>>>>>> τΏτ <<<<<<<<<<==========----------
John W. Nichols, M.A.
Assistant Professor of Psychology & Computer Science
Tulsa Community College
909 S. Boston Ave., Tulsa, OK 74119
(918) 595-7134
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Home: http://www.tulsa.oklahoma.net/~jnichols/home.html
MegaPsych: http://www.tulsa.oklahoma.net/~jnichols/megapsych.html
