Content area
Full text
The Kaspar Hauser Syndrome of 'Psychosocial Dwarfism': Deficient Statural, Intellectual, and Social Growth Induced by Child Abuse, By John Money.
Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books. 1992. Pp. 230. Cased, $24.35.
For many years, endocrinologists and psychiatrists have been fascinated by children with 'psychosocial dwarfism' whose growth in stature is impaired, often to a dramatic degree, consequent to serious abuse of neglect. John Money has contributed several important papers to the scientific literature on the subject, and his experience of diagnosing and treating children with this condition must be as great as that of anyone in the world. He is professor of medical psychology and professor of paediatrics emeritus at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital and the founder of the Psychohormonal Research Unit.
In this book, he competently reviews the existing literature, setting it within the context of an historical account of Kaspar Hauser, whose story introduces and concludes the discussion of clinical material about psychosocial dwarfism. Kaspar Hauser was found at the Haller Gate of the city of Nuremberg in 1828, carrying a written note that suggested he was 16 years of age. Even for a child of those times he was stunted in growth, and he had little coherent speech. Eventually, a story was pieced together suggesting that he had been brought up in a small dark room, fed by an unknown hand, and throughout his life he had experienced almost total isolation from human contact. Although never proven, it has been suggested that he was...