Council Policy Manual: N. Public Interest - Part 5

The APA Policy Manual is a collection of policy actions taken by the APA Council of Representatives. This edition includes action taken after 1960 through February 2001. Some policies adopted subsequent to February 2001 may not be reflected. The texts included in the Manual are the texts of the actual motions passed by Council.

XXVIII. Special Education
XXIX. Substance Abuse
XXX. Tobacco
XXXI. Urban Life and Residence Issues
XXII. Vietnam
XXXIII. Violence
XXXIV. Women's Rights
XXXV. Work Related Psychological Disorders

XXVIII. SPECIAL EDUCATION

1. August 1989

Council voted to approve the following resolution on special education and related services for children with conduct disorders:

WHEREAS Congress has mandated that public schools provide special education services to all handicapped children, including those who are seriously emotionally disturbed;

WHEREAS Congress has defined serious emotional disturbance to include unsatisfactory relationships and inappropriate behavior that Interfere with educational performance over a long period of time and to a marked degree;

WHEREAS such characteristics are commonly associated with conduct disorders;

WHEREAS children with diagnoses manifested primarily by troubling behavior, such as conduct disorders and attention deficit disorders, constitute a large proportion of seriously emotionally disturbed children;

WHEREAS special education and related services, Including psychological services, are often critical to seriously emotionally disturbed children's educational progress;

WHEREAS schools are Important components In the child mental health system; and

WHEREAS psychologists provide services to seriously emotionally disturbed children both within and outside school settings;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the American Psychological Association opposes efforts by some states to exclude conduct disordered children from special education and related services;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Association calls upon the Congress a the United States Department of Education to take action to ensure that states do not further deprive seriously emotionally disturbed children of special education and related services, including psychological services, that are Important to their educational achievement and psychological development."

XXIX. SUBSTANCE ABUSE

1. August 1991

On the recommendation of the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest, the Board of Professional Affairs, the Board of Scientific Affairs, the Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice, the Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs, the Committee on Children, Youth and Families, the Committee on Women In Psychology, Division 28, and the Board of Directors, Council voted to adopt a resolution on Substance Abuse by Pregnant Women. [Appendix N - XXIX.1]

2. August 1992

The Board of Directors and Council approved the following resolution:

WHEREAS one method of transmitting the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, from one person to another is through blood residue in shared drug injection equipment;

WHEREAS a large proportion of HIV-infected persons are injecting drug users;

WHEREAS epidemiological projections regarding the future of the AIDS epidemic point to widespread transmission of HIV among injecting drug users and their sexual partners;

WHEREAS injecting drug users and addicts frequently have limited access to sterile injection equipment on a regular basis;

WHEREAS the U.S. government has supported very limited AIDS prevention research involving equipment exchange or other means for addicts to acquire sterile injection equipment;

WHEREAS curtailment of equipment exchange in research projects limits the pursuit of knowledge about the total array of AIDS prevention techniques that may be effective among injecting drug users;

WHEREAS access to health care systems to acquire injection equipment creates a nexus for offering other services to addicted persons, including health-related education and treatment;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the APA advocates greatly expanded research, especially demonstration research, on the legal availability of sterile injection equipment as a method of preventing HIV transmission among injecting drug users. Such research should be in the context of also providing other services for drug users, including drug abuse treatment and treatment for HIV infection.

3. August 1998

Council voted to approve the following resolution regarding Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentencing Regulations:

WHEREAS mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws reduce judicial discretion and require incarceration of offenders whose criminal behavior is limited to drug possession and use, and who may be first time offenders;

WHEREAS minor drug offenders receive harsh mandatory minimum sentences, regardless of their limited role in the offense, leaving the Chief Justice of the United States, William Rehnquist (commenting on a first-time offender sentenced to life imprisonment) to call such mandatory drug sentencing good examples of the law of unintended circumstances;

WHEREAS convicted offenders with substance abuse problems typically are remanded to prisons that lack adequate substance abuse treatment and HIV prevention programs that are essential for drug abusers;

WHEREAS mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws have contributed significantly to the more than threefold increase in the U.S. prison population during the past decade and have disproportionately involved minorities and the poor, especially African American and Hispanic males;

WHEREAS research on the cost-effectiveness of different drug control strategies has shown that substance abuse treatment, even with its known limitations, is a cost-effective strategy to reduce drug use;

WHEREAS the U.S. federal drug control budget heavily favors interdiction approaches to the U.S. drug problem to the detriment of providing adequate funding for drug treatment and prevention;

WHEREAS research on cocaine dosage forms has shown that the differences in the severity of sentences for powder and crack cocaine are not based on supportable differences in the psychological or biological impact of these dosage forms;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the American Psychological Association supports in principle the restoration of reasonable boundaries in mandatory drug sentencing laws, the phasing out of such laws at both the state and federal levels for drug-related offenses that do not involve drug trafficking and when no other offense or harm to others is involved, and the proper emphasis on prevention and treatment of substance-related problems as alternative to and in addition to legal actions.

XXX. TOBACCO

1. August 1992

Council voted to adopt as APA policy the following resolution on the use of psychology to market tobacco products:

Resolution on the Use of Psychology to Market Tobacco Products

WHEREAS three successive Surgeons General of the United States have determined that tobacco products pose a threat to the public health of Americans; and

WHEREAS some members of this Association have assisted in applying psychology to the marketing of tobacco products with special targeting of youth, women, and members of ethnic minority groups, now therefore,

The American Psychological Association urges our colleagues who are using psychological techniques to assist in the marketing of tobacco products to take cognizance of the public welfare and consider voluntarily suspending all efforts at using psychological techniques as a matter of conscience.

XXXI. URBAN LIFE AND RESIDENCE ISSUES

1. February 1996

WHEREAS in the past century, the United States of America has moved from a rural agrarian nation to an urban techno-industrial nation, and

WHEREAS three-quarters of American citizens now reside in urban and metropolitan centers, and

WHEREAS this population shift and residential change has been associated with environmentally specific risks of individual maladjustment, including alienation, demoralization, helplessness, hostility, substance abuse, distrust, isolation, apathy, marginalization, and powerlessness, and

WHEREAS this population shift and residential change has been associated with greater incidence of societal problems including crime, violence, homelessness, crowding, pollution, economic poverty, interracial conflict, and socio-cultural disintegration, and

WHEREAS these individual and societal adjustment problems have seriously impacted the survival, wellbeing, and life satisfaction of urban and metropolitan residents, and especially those of children, youth, elderly, women, ethnic minorities, immigrants, persons with disabilities and various marginalized groups, and

WHEREAS many urban life contexts and centers, including the home, workplace, school neighborhood and community have become places that often engender, precipitate, and maintain high levels of stress, tension, and related demands, and

WHEREAS resources for the management, attenuation, control, and/or prevention of these stresses, tensions, and demands have often proved to be unavailable, inadequate, or limited, and

WHEREAS urban life contexts and centers will continue to experience increases in population and residential size, density, diversity, and societal influence, and

WHEREAS urban life contexts and centers will continue to be the focus of cultural and artistic development, educational enhancement, and, ethnocultural and life-style diversity, and

WHEREAS people will continue to migrate to urban centers in pursuit of economic opportunity and security, individual freedoms and choice, and varied and alternative lifestyles, and

WHEREAS the projected rapid population growth of cultural minority populations in the United States -- expected to reach 35% by the year 2010 -- has critical ramifications for the social, psychological, and health needs of ethnic minority communities especially given the disproportionate concentration of populations of color residing in urban areas (88% according to Bureau of the Census data), and

WHEREAS the problems, demands, and challenges of urban life and residence have sometimes promoted life conditions that are intolerable and unacceptable to human life, wellbeing, and dignity, and

WHEREAS urban life and residence is now associated with numerous social and environmental conditions that act against the fulfillment of essential human needs including safety, security, identity, self-worth, and personal and group empowerment, and

WHEREAS the American Psychological Association and its membership are dedicated and committed to the promotion of human welfare and wellbeing, and the fostering of those conditions that encourage and sustain human worth, dignity, and development, and

WHEREAS applications of psychological theory, research, and practice are emerging that are germane and applicable to the amelioration, resolution, and prevention of the urban life circumstances that have spawned and fostered the problems, challenges, and demands noted previously, and

WHEREAS many members of the American Psychological Association are actively interested and involved in the amelioration, resolution, and prevention of these problems, challenges, and demands through the uses of assessment, intervention, evaluation, and preventive activities and programs, and

WHEREAS the membership of the American Psychological Association possess the capabilities, talents, motivation, and commitment to work with government, citizen, and private agencies and organizations to help ameliorate, resolve, and prevent the problems, challenges, and demands associated with urban life and residence,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the American Psychological Association endorse, support, and advance an expanded and increased role in matters related to (1) the amelioration and prevention of those individual and societal problems associated with urban life and residence, and (2) the promotion and encouragement of those opportunities for health and wellbeing associated with urban life and residence.

XXXII. VIETNAM

1. 1974

Recognizing that the psychological and moral burdens imposed on U.S. citizens by the war in Indochina - confronting them with profound divisions within their society, with anguish about the morality of actions taken in their names, with distrust of their national leadership, and with doubts about the justification for the sacrifices imposed upon them - weighed most heavily on the young men who were called upon to participate personally in the fighting in Indochina;

That the usual difficulty experienced by the veteran in the process of transition from military to civilian life, due to psychological traumata and other reasons, "had been markedly greater for the Vietnam veteran because of the controversial nature of the Vietnamese conflict and the rapid social-economic changes that occurred during his absence";

That "studies conducted by the military and the Veterans Administration indicate that serious and prolonged readjustment problems exist in approximately one out of five new veterans, but to a lesser degree, were experienced by all";

That Vietnam veterans as a group and their families have been receiving insufficient moral, psychological, and emotional support to enable them to come to terms with their experiences, to find employment, and to prepare themselves for the future;

And that many thousands of men who, for reasons of conscience, resisted the draft, or disobeyed military orders, or deserted, are now facing psychological problems associated with separation from their families, exclusion from their societies, and stigmatization as lawbreakers,

1. The Council of Representatives of the American Psychological Association endorses legislative and executive action leading to:

a. Increased benefits for Vietnam veterans and improvements in the administration of such benefits, in order to assure that the educational, occupational, medical, and psychological needs of these men are adequately met, with real-dollar benefits at levels at least as high as those extended to World War II veterans;

b. A broadened definition of Service-related disabilities, which would give veterans the opportunity, on a wholly voluntary basis, to obtain treatment for psychological problems that do not require hospitalization or that manifest themselves only some time after their return home, and to obtain treatment for members of their families who play a significant role in their readjustment;

c. Freedom of choice for Vietnam veterans in contracting for psychological treatment, allowing them - whether they are still in service or out of service - the option of receiving payment for such treatment by civilian practitioners of their own choosing, if they feel that their needs cannot be adequately met by mental health personnel working within the military or the Veterans Administration; and

d. Active participation of Vietnam era veterans in developing and running the programs designed to serve their needs.

2. Council urges APA divisions and state and local psychological associations to establish registers of appropriately qualified psychologists whose skills in therapy, counseling, group leadership, or other psychological services might be useful in the rehabilitation of Vietnam veterans and war resisters, and who are prepared to devote some portion of their time to work with these men and their families, free of charge or at reduced rates. Such registers should be forwarded to Central Office so that they might be maintained centrally. Psychologists should be urged to participate in these programs, indicating both their skills and their time limitations, with the understanding that the existence of the resisters will be publicized among prospective clients and that inquiries by such clients would periodically be referred to them.

3. Council requests that the Board of Social and Ethical Responsibility for Psychology generate recommendations for just and humane policies designed to ease the psychological problems faced by war resisters and to help them reestablish themselves within the society.

4. Council urges relevant divisions, boards, and committees within APA to develop mechanisms and provide occasions for discussing and analyzing the psychological and moral implications of the Vietnam war and its effects on the American population and particularly on the generation most directly confronted with it.

5. Council requests that the APA Central Office and relevant boards and committees take active steps to promote and support legislative and executive actions, as well as activities within the profession, designed to implement the above proposals. (1974)

*Quotations taken form a memorandum from the Department of Medicine and Surgery of the Veterans Administration, reproduced in part in the Congressional Record of October 12, 1973.

XXXIII. VIOLENCE

1. 1985

WHEREAS, the great majority of research studies have found a relationship between televised violence and behaving aggressively, and

WHEREAS, the conclusion drawn on the basis of 25 years of research and a sizable number of experimental and field investigations (NIMH, 1972, 1982) is that viewing televised violence may lead to increases in aggressive attitudes, values, and behavior, particularly in children, and

WHEREAS, many children's programs contain some form of violence,

BE IT RESOLVED that the American Psychological Association (1) encourages parents to monitor and to control television viewing by children; (2) requests industry representatives to take a responsible attitude in reducing direct imitable violence on 'real life' fictional children's programming or violent incidents on cartoons, and in providing more programming for children designed to mitigate possible effects of television violence, consistent with the guarantees of the First Amendment; and (3) urges industry, government, and private foundations to support relevant research activities aimed at the amelioration of the effects of high levels of televised violence on children's attitudes and behaviors.

2. 1988

WHEREAS, violence toward children which is encouraged or tolerated by governments of any country represents an affront to civilized society and a social concern of all responsible people;

WHEREAS, psychologists cannot in good conscience remain silent in the face of such abuse;

WHEREAS, the American Psychological Association is also obligated to support our colleagues in other countries when they courageously speak out against such abuses;

WHEREAS, the American Psychological Association has in the past spoken out against the government sponsored violations of children's rights (e.g., the imprisonment of Black children in South Africa);

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the American Psychological Association will, as a matter of policy, consider, upon documentation of such abuses of children's rights, resolutions protesting such abuses and expressing solidarity with our colleagues who protest such abuses within their own country.

3. 1994

WHEREAS the consequences of aggressive and violent behavior have brought human suffering, lost lives, and economic hardship to our society as well as an atmosphere of anxiety, fear, and mistrust;

WHEREAS in recent years the level of violence in American society and the level of violence portrayed in television, film, and video have escalated markedly;

WHEREAS the great majority of research studies have found a relation between viewing mass media violence and behaving aggressively;

WHEREAS the conclusion drawn on the basis of over 30 years of research and a sizeable number of experimental and field investigations (Huston, et al., 1992; NIMH, 1982; Surgeon General, 1972) is that viewing mass media violence leads to increases in aggressive attitudes, values, and behavior, particularly in children, and has a long-lasting effect on behavior and personality, including criminal behavior;

WHEREAS viewing violence desensitizes the viewer to violence, resulting in calloused attitudes regarding violence toward others and a decreased likelihood to take action on behalf of a victim when violence occurs;

WHEREAS viewing violence increases viewers' tendencies for becoming involved with or exposing themselves to violence;

WHEREAS viewing violence increases fear of becoming a victim of violence, with a resultant increase in self-protective behaviors and mistrust of others;

WHEREAS many children's television programs and films contain some form of violence, and children's access to adult-oriented media violence is increasing as a result of new technological advances;

RESOLVED, that the American Psychological Association:

(1) urges psychologists to inform the television and film industry personnel who are responsible for violent programming, their commercial advertisers, legislators, and the general public that viewing violence in the media produces aggressive and violent behavior in children who are susceptible to such effects;

(2) encourages parents and other child care providers to monitor and supervise television, video, and film viewing by children;

(3) supports the inclusion of clear and easy-to-use warning labels for violent material in television, video, and film programs to enable viewers to make informed choices;

(4) supports the development of technologies that empower viewers to prevent the broadcast of violent material in their homes;

(5) supports the development, implementation, and evaluation of school-based programs to educate children and youth regarding means for critically viewing, processing, and evaluating video and film portrayals of both aggressive and prosocial behaviors;

(6) requests the television and film industry to reduce direct violence in "real life" fictional children's programming or violent incidents in cartoons and other television or film productions, and to provide more programming designed to mitigate possible effects of television and film violence, consistent with the guarantees of the First Amendment;

(7) urges the television and film industry to foster programming that models prosocial behaviors and seeks to resolve the problem of violence in society;

(8) offers to the television and film industry assistance in developing programs that illustrate psychological methods to control aggressive and violent behavior, and alternative strategies for dealing with conflict and anger;

(9) supports revision of the Film Rating System to take into account violence content that is harmful to children and youth;

(10) urges industry, government, and private foundations to develop and implement programs to enhance the critical viewing skills of teachers, parents, and children regarding media violence and how to prevent its negative effects;

(11) recommends that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) review, as a condition for license renewal, the programming and outreach efforts and accomplishments of television stations in helping to solve the problem of youth violence;

(12) urges industry, government, and private foundations to support research activities aimed at the amelioration of the effects of high levels of mass media violence on children's attitudes and behavior.

References

Huston, A.C., Donnerstein, E., Fairchild, H., Feshbach, N.D., Katz, P.A., Murray, J.P., Rubenstein, E.A., Wilcox, B.L., & Zuckerman, D. (1992). Big world, small screen: The role of television in American society. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press.

National Institute of Mental Health. (1982). Television and behavior: Ten years of scientific progress and implications for the eighties (vol I), Summary Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior. (1972). Television and growing up: The impact of televised violence. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

4. August 1996

On recommendation of the Board of Directors; the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest; the Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice; the Committee on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns; the Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology; the Committee on Women in Psychology; and the Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs; Council voted to adopt the following Policy Statement on Social Practices that Induce Violence:

Policy Statement on Social Practices that Induce Violence

Violence is a public health problem of major proportions. The United States ranks first among industrialized developed nations in personal violence, and, whether homicide, suicide, or accidents, violence is the leading cause of death among America's youth. Violence, fear of violence, and the aftermaths of violence have eroded the quality of life in both urban and rural areas, with far-ranging dangerous effects (Violence & Youth: Psychology's response, 1993).

There is extensive literature pertaining to the various aspects of violence, including the violent manifestations and outcomes of practices institutionalized into the country's current social order (Eron, Gentry, & Schlegel, 1995). Although emphasis has been understandably placed on the perpetrators and victims of violence, it is also necessary to focus on publicly accepted practices that are themselves violent and precipitators of violence.

Some overlooked essential aspects of this complex problem are the social practices of violence and malignant neglect that have been institutionalized into our society in the course of daily life for many Americans, but which may be destructive, even life threatening, or condone or stimulate violence. Societal attitudes may implicitly sanction some manifestations of violence. Community context may shape how a victim of violence labels or responds to his or her experience (Sorenson & Bowie, 1995). Entertainment media may characterize violence as a normative response when desires are thwarted or frustrated (Hill, Soriano, Chen, & LaFromboise, 1995).

A developmental perspective can support the assumption that people who are victimized in daily life may be less likely to perceive alternatives and options than those who have a history of more positive, healthy, violence free life experiences (Sorenson & Bowie, 1995).

WHEREAS graphic depictions of acts of violence have become viewed in many quarters as attractive, commercially necessary content for amusement for all ages in films, television, toys and games, music, and general media resulting in multiple daily exposures to violent content, (Donnerstein, Slaby & Eron, 1995; Hill, Soriano, Chen, LaFromboise, 1995; Prothrow-Stith, 1991), and

WHEREAS some aspects of society are becoming more openly polarized along racial, ethnic, cultural, economic, age, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status, religious belief, disability, health status, and power differences, increasingly expressed by psychological abuse, verbal and physical violence (Brown, Hamilton, Hoffman, & Mavaddat, 1995; Hill & Madhere, 1996; Holmes, 1996; McClosky, Fernandez-Esquer, Southwick, & Locke, 1995; Seigelman, Bledsoe, Welch, & Combs, 1996);

WHEREAS the widespread socially sanctioned availability of firearms has escalated youth violence to an accelerating rate of lethal outcomes (Verhovek, 1995);

WHEREAS the conditions of unemployment and underemployment are relegating more persons and families into generations of entrenched poverty with its well-known pathological sequelae (Mead, 1989), with 21 percent of all children, 39 percent of Hispanic children, and 46 percent of African-American children included among the poor (Thompson, 1992);

WHEREAS many urban and rural poor, and also ethnic/racial minority populations are housed in areas that are disproportionately subject to life threatening conditions of malignant neglect; such as fires, lead poisoning, crime, and hazardous toxic dumping. (Violence & Youth: Psychology's response, 1993);

WHEREAS many schools for the urban and rural poor are neither safe nor successful in educating or even retaining their youth, thereby depriving them of hope and chances to compete for the American dream (Carta, 1992);

WHEREAS basic health care, prevention and treatment programs are too often not readily accessible to neglected population groups, resulting in otherwise avoidable infant mortalities, illness, disability, shortened life span, or continued addictions (Baquet & Fritsch, 1994; Pear, 1993);

WHEREAS court and penal systems' inappropriate handling of youth victims and persons apprehended for even minor offenses can brutalize both the innocent and those convicted (Radelet, 1989).

WHEREAS state-sanctioned taking of lives through capital punishment has accumulated over 2,000 people in death rows, a disproportionate number of whom are ethnic minorities, and 31 of whom were sentenced for crimes committed when they were juveniles (Radelet, 1989);

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that any serious effort to understand and ameliorate the public health menace of violence must include attention to the practices that are often accepted as a normal way of organizing life for some people that constitute or promote violence. These interactive effects are within the expertise of psychology, thus;

Be it also resolved that efforts by APA to stimulate research and to provide leadership concerning reduction and management of violence include a focus on socially endorsed and institutionalized expressions of violence, and that social policy initiatives of the APA include that focus as well.

References

Baquet, D. & Fritsch, J. (1995, March 5). New York's public hospitals fail, and babies are the victims. The New York Times, pp. 1, 32-33.

Brown, C., Hamilton, V.L., Hoffman, W., & Mavaddat, R. (1995). Race, Gender, and the Response to Stress: Autoworkers' vulnerability to long-term unemployment. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23, 813-842.

Carta, J. (1992). Education for young children in inner-city classrooms. In T. Thompson & S. Hupp (Eds.), Saving children at risk: Poverty and disabilities. Newbury Park: Sage Publications.

Donnerstein, E., Slaby, R.G., & Eron, L.D. (1995). The Mass Media and youth Aggression. In L. Eron, J. Gentry, & P. Schlegel (Eds.), Reason to Hope: A Psychosocial Perspective on Violence & Youth. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Eron, L.D., Gentry, J.H., & Schlegel, P. (1995). Reason to Hope: A Psychological Perspective on Violence & Youth. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Hill, H., & Madhere, S. (1996). Exposure to Community Violence and African American Children: A multidimensional model of risks and resources. American Journal of Community Psychology, 24, 26-43.

Hill, H.M., Soriano, F.I., Chen, S.A., & LaFromboise, T.D. (1995). Sociocultural factors in the Etiology and Prevention of Violence among Ethnic Minority Youth. In L. Eron, J. Gentry, & P. Schlegel (Eds.), Reason to Hope: A Psychosocial Perspective on Violence & Youth. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Holmes, S. (June 20, 1996). Income Disparity Between Poorest and Richest Rises. The New York Times.

McClosky, L., Fernandez-Esquer, M.E., Southwick, K., & Locke, C. (1995). Psychological Affects of Political and Domestic Violence on Central American and Mexican Immigrant Mothers and Children. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23, 95-116.

Mead, L. (1989). The new politics of poverty: The nonworking poor in America. New York: Basic Books.

Pear, R. (1993, July 8). Big health gap, tied to income, is found in U.S. The New York Times, pp. 1, B10.

Prothrow-Stith, D. (1991). Deadly Consequences. New York: Harper Collins.

Radelet, M. (Ed.). (1989). Facing the death penalty: Essays on cruel and unusual punishment. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Seigelman, L., Bledsoe, T., Welch, S., & Combs, M. (1996). Making Contact? Black-White Social Interaction in an Urban Setting. American Journal of Sociology, 101, 1306-1332.

Sorenson, S.B. & Bowie, P. (1995). Girls and Young Women. In L. Eron, J. Gentry, & P. Schlegel (Eds.), Reason to Hope: A Psychosocial Perspective on Violence & Youth. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Thompson, T., & Hupp, S. (Eds.). (1992). Saving children at risk: Poverty and disabilities. Newbury Park: Sage Publications.

Van Ry, M. (1993). Homeless families: Causes, effects, and recommendations. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc.

Verhovek, S. (1995, March 6). States seek to let citizens carry concealed weapons. The New York Times, pp. 1, B8.

Violence & Youth: Psychology's response. Volume I: Summary report of the American Psychological Association Commission on Violence and Youth. (1993). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

5. February 1999

Council voted to adopt the following resolution:

Resolution on Male Violence Against Women1

WHEREAS violence against women is a major cause of reduced quality of life, distress, injury and death for women and has serious secondary effects for families, communities, and the economy;

WHEREAS violence against women takes many forms, including battering, sexual harassment, and rape;

WHEREAS one in five adult women experience at least one physical assault by a partner during adulthood; as many as one of every two women are affected by sexual harassment over the course of their working lives; and approximately one in eight women have experienced a sexual assault in their lifetimes;

WHEREAS research reveals a high prevalence of acute and chronic mental and physical health consequences resulting from violence against women;

WHEREAS being assaulted by or witnessing assaults toward family members in childhood or adolescence increases the likelihood of mental health problems, substance abuse, and involvement in abusive relationships for both women and men;

WHEREAS gender and gender relations play critical roles in directing male violence toward women;

WHEREAS cultural norms and expectations play critical roles in promoting and shaping male violence against women and in determining the consequences to the victim and the responses of society;

WHEREAS understanding male violence against women requires examining the power inequalities between men and women, including legal, economic, and physical power inequalities;

WHEREAS women living in poverty are at especially high risk for all types of violence- particularly severe and life threatening assaults;

WHEREAS research focused on violence against ethnic minority, poor and older women, lesbians, and women with disabilities is limited;

WHEREAS psychologists, as researchers, service providers, and policy advocates, have important roles to play in educating the public and preventing and treating violence against women;

WHEREAS levels of assaultive and lethal violence against women remain high, despite two decades of increased awareness and legislation;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the American Psychological Association:

1. Support public policy initiatives in research, prevention and intervention areas, including legal and legislative reform.

2. Support legislative efforts that seek to redress gender-based power imbalances, including legislation on civil rights, dependent care and family support, and pay equity.

3. Explore avenues to improve training of psychologists to recognize and treat victims of violence and to conduct research on prevention and intervention with the women themselves, their children and perpetrators.

4. Explore interventions for children and adolescents who have been exposed to family violence and who are therefore at risk for violent behavior or victimization.

5. Explore avenues to disseminate materials available on violence against women including those of the APA Task Force on Male Violence Against Women to policy makers, professional communities, church and community groups, educational institutions and the general public.

6. Explore ways to increase public and private funding for research on violence against women.

7. Explore avenues for showcasing, in the Association's publications, research on male violence against women so as to increase the extent to which it is viewed as within the mainstream of psychological concerns.

8. Explore avenues for greater collaboration with legal, medical, and other professional disciplines on international, national, regional, and local levels to prevent violence against women.

9. Explore psychoeducational and sociocultural interventions designed to change male objectification of women.

1Statistics taken from the Report of the Male Violence Against Women Task Force: Koss, M.P., Goodman, L.A., Browne, A., Fitzgerald, L.F., Keita, G.P., & Russo, N.F. (1994). No safe haven: Male violence against women at home, at work , and in the community. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

XXXIV. WOMEN’S RIGHTS

1. 1975

WHEREAS, psychological theories and research should have no bearing upon the desirability of the Equal Rights Amendment, which is a matter of human rights rather than of scientific fact;

WHEREAS, unfortunately, unsubstantiated psychological theories and research have nevertheless, been misused to justify discrimination against women and to oppose the Equal Rights Amendment; and

WHEREAS, denial of equal rights to women, as to any other social category, is a grave injustice;

BE IT RESOLVED, that the American Psychological Association (a) asserts that arguments linking sex differences and their origins to the desirability of the Equal Rights Amendment are specious and without foundation; (b) deplores these misuses of psychological theories; (c) supports the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.

2. 1988

Council voted to adopt the revised "Guidelines for Avoiding Sexism in Psychological Research" as APA Policy. [Appendix N - XXXIV.2]

XXXV. WORK RELATED PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

1. February 1993

Council voted to adopt the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) strategies as policy. Council also voted to request that APA staff encourage NIOSH to give explicit attention to stresses caused by discrimination or exploitative treatment with regard to gender, race, ethnicity, culture, disability, sexual orientation, age, and religion across all four strategies. Moreover, Council calls attention to the home as a workplace and notes the need for research in this area.

Council Policy Manual: Table of Contents | Introduction | A. Elections | B. Awards | C. Membership | D. Human Resources | E. Ethics | F. Board of Directors | G. Divisions and State and Provincial Associations | H. Organization of APA | I. Publications and Communcations | J. Convention Affairs | K. Educational Affairs | L. Professional Affairs | M. Scientific Affairs | N. Public Interest - Part 1 | N. Public Interest - Part 2 | N. Public Interest - Part 3 | N. Public Interest - Part 4 | N. Public Interest - Part 5 | O. Ethnic Minority Affairs | P. International Affairs | Q. Central Office | R. Financial Affairs