An Analysis of Child Maltreatment Content in Introductory Psychology Textbooks

Coverage of child maltreatment in abnormal psychology textbooks: Reviewing the adequacy of the content.

“…For example, the first psychology textbook study found that 17% of 24 introductory psychology textbooks did not even mention childhood sexual abuse (CSA), 75% of the authors presented information about false memories that was not supported by research, and most textbooks discussed CM only in the context of controversial topics such as false memories (Letourneau & Lewis, 1999). Recent studies of introductory psychology textbooks found that coverage has not improved much in the 15 years since the publication of the first textbook review, despite a great deal of CM research that has been published during that time (Brand & McEwen, 2014; Kissee, Isaacson, & Miller-Perrin, 2014). A recent review found that only one of 15 introductory psychology textbooks mentioned psychological abuse, one mentioned neglect, and none mentioned all four types of CM (i.e., psychological, physical, and sexual abuse and neglect; Kissee al., 2014).…”

“…Recent studies of introductory psychology textbooks found that coverage has not improved much in the 15 years since the publication of the first textbook review, despite a great deal of CM research that has been published during that time (Brand & McEwen, 2014; Kissee, Isaacson, & Miller-Perrin, 2014). A recent review found that only one of 15 introductory psychology textbooks mentioned psychological abuse, one mentioned neglect, and none mentioned all four types of CM (i.e., psychological, physical, and sexual abuse and neglect; Kissee al., 2014). Furthermore, only half of the textbooks discussed the psychological consequences of CM.…”

“…Furthermore, only half of the textbooks discussed the psychological consequences of CM. Kissee et al concluded that discussing CM alongside controversial topics could lead students to misunderstand the prevalence and impact of CM. These researchers suggested that more authors follow the format found in 20% of the textbooks—that is, that they dedicate a section to CM that accurately presents current CM research.…”

Psychology: a Giant with Feet of Clay

“…This analysis is extraordinarily still used today by many psychologists with either epistemological, educational or political aims and focuses (e.g. Roeckelein, 1996Roeckelein, , 1997Zechmeister & Zechmeister, 2000;Habarth, Hansell & Grove, 2001;Simonton, 2004Simonton, , 2006Costa & Shimp., 2011;Kissee, Isaacson & Miller-Perrin, 2014;Griggs & Christopher, 2016;Whaley, Clay & Broussard, 2017;Whitehead III, Smith & Losonczy-Marshall, 2017;Ferguson, Brown, TorresBrown & Torres, 2018;Warne, Astle & Hill, 2018). The analysis of introductory books has also been implemented by scholars from other sciences, including informatics (McMaster, Rague, Sambasivam, & Wolthuis, 2019), statistics (Ravinder & Misra, 2016;Dunn, Carey, Farrar, Richardson & McDonald, 2017), chemistry (Nelson, Kumar & Ramasamy, 2015), biology (Colosi, 2000;Bednekoff, 2005;Wright, Cardenas, Liang & Newman, 2017) and sociology (Manza & Van Schyndel, 2000;Keith & Ender, 4 Someone could argue for the exclusion of influential sources, both due to their historical importance (e.g.…”

Ethical standards, truths, and lies

“…If the APA did not heed its own ethics standard, the lapse has become amplified in that the false memory perspective is now commonly held by many lay and professional people. The APA's lapse is likely having an even broader impact because the false memory perspective has become so pervasive that it now dominates many psychology textbooks (Brand & McEwen, 2014;Kissee, Isaacson, & Miller-Perrin, 2014;Wilgus, Packer, Lile-King, Miller-Perrin, & Brand, 2015).…”