NICHD CHILD ABUSE RESEARCH CHRONOLOGY:
1962-1980
James W. Prescott, Ph.D.
1970. TIME LIFE FILMS ROCK-A-BYE BABY. LOTHAR
WOLFF, Executive Producer. James W. Prescott,
Scientific Director. Documentary: Mother-Infant-Separation
.National- International
Awards. CINE Golden Eagle Award. http://www.violence.de/tv/rockabye.html
1971. Publication
Prescott, J.W. (1971). Early somatosensory deprivation as an ontogenetic
process in the abnormal development of the brain
and behavior. In: Medical Primatology 1970. (I.E. Goldsmith and J.
Moor-Jankowski, Eds). S. Karger, Basel, New York. http://www.violence.de/prescott/mp/article.html
1974. Publication
Berman, A.J., Berman, D. & Prescott, J.W. (1974). The effect of cerebellar lesions on emotional
behavior in the rhesus monkey. In: The Cerebellum,
Epilepsy and Behavior. (Cooper, I.S., Riklon, M.V. & Snider, R.S. (Eds) Plenum, NY
http://www.violence.de/berman/article.html
https://vimeo.com/69200952
https://vimeo.com/71761209
Response of the NICHD to a memo on
child abuse and neglect from Sectretary Weinberger. The NICHD will fund a conference in
1974 and will contribute a budget
of $200,000 for fiscal year 1974 to the examination of the problem.
View Document
1975. Publication.
Prescott, J.W. (1975) Body Pleasure and the Origins of Violence. TheFuturist April. Reprinted: The Bulletin of The Atomic
Scientists (1975) November. http://www.violence.de/prescott/bulletin/article.html
1975. Publication.
Heath, R. G. (l975): Maternal-social deprivation and abnormal brain
development: Disorders of emotional and social behavior. In Brain Function and Malnutrition: :Neuropsychological Methods of Assessment Prescott, J.W., Read, M.S., &Coursin, D.B., Eds).John Wiley New York. http://www.violence.de/heath/bfm/article.html
1975. Memo: April 15, 1975 New Director Kretchmer,
NICHD removed NICHD of its agency responsibility
to support research on child abuse and neglect and violated the Directive
of Secretary Caspar Weinberger to the NICHD. NICHD decided
not to publish conference proceedings on child abuse and neglect. View Document
1975. Memo: May 22, 1975
"The Director, NICHD, has decided not to commit the funds necessary to
publish the proceeding of the above indicated research conference. In
lieu of this effort, the NICHD has concluded an agreement with NIMH to
supply up to $15,000 for a collaborative study of abuse and neglect of
adolescents. Dr. Ira Lourie, of NIMH,
will be in charge of the study." -- signed Jehu C. Hunter, Acting
Associate Director for Program Planning and Evaluation, NICHD, NIH
View Document
1975. May 14, 1975
NIH
Memo to Jehu C. Hunter from Joseph Bobbitt, Ph.D. It explicity states that DHEW Secretary Weinberger
is upset by the lack of response from various federal agencies to his
directive to increase activity and research on child abuse and neglect.
"He finally said that perhaps the Secretary would have to remind the
agencies and set fiscal obligations as he did for FY [fiscal year] 74."
Bobbitt stated "that specific requirements
were never set for FY 75 (but that NICHD had maintained its FY 1974
mandate level)".
View Document
1977. Memo: Dec.
29, 1977
Memo Scientist Administrator Prescott
to Director NICHD, Kretchmer. Summary of situation and request to
fund the research project of Dr. A. Riesen
on Somatosensory Deprivation.
View Document
1979. Publication.
Prescott, J.W. (l979): Deprivation of physical affection as a primary process in the development of physical violence. In. Child Abuse and Violence (Gil, D. G., Ed). AMS Press New York pp 66-137.
1979. Memo: Dec. 29, 1977
Memo Scientist Administrator
Prescott to Director NICHD, Kretchmer. Summary of situation and request to
fund the research project of Dr. A. Riesen
on Somatosensory Deprivation.
View Document
1979. Memo: Jan. 30,
1978
Reply by Kretchmer. Rejects idea to
initiate a high priority program on the developmental neurobiology of
socialization.
View Document
1979. Memo: May 22, 1979
NICHD
internal memo to Health Scientist Administrator Dr. James W. Prescott
prohibits him from any activity to further research on child abuse.
"Please
note the attached memorandum to DRG. Child abuse falls within the
NIMH's stated referral guidelines and appears nowhere within NICHD's
guideline or mission; therefore, assignment to NICHD is inappropriate."
"I
have requested that DRG make no further assignments to HD in child
abuse. Further, you are instructed not to program grant applications or
contract proposals in this area." -- signed Betty H. Pickett,
Ph.D., Acting Director, CRMC (NICHD)
View Cover
View Document
1979. Memo: June 15, 1979 –
Analysis Denied
Prescott
updated statistics on infant/child mortality rates for an extended
epidemiological study. He then requested permission to use computer time
at DCRT for $500 to do additional analysis. Betty H. Pickett of the
NICHD denied it. Today (1999) the data is still not analyzed and
continuation of studies requested was denied. These denials and
rejections occurred despite the NICHD responsibility on epidemiological
studies on infant mortality. See 1998 NICHD studies on infant homicide
and mortality.
View Prescott's
Request
View Pickett's Denial
NICHD Ref.
Guidelines of 1978 (Below)
1979. August 16, 1979
Government
memo from S. Stephen Schiaffino, Ph.D. , Deputy Director, DRG (Director of Research
Grants) to Dr. James Prescott, NICHD. It establishes that NICHD had an
official policy to support research on: "child abuse and the unwanted
child." according to the NICHD Referral Guidelines of 1970 and 1973.
This language was removed in later editions by Dr. Kretchmer, which permitted Dr. Pickett to
state in her memo of May 22 (above) that this subject matter nowhere
appears in the Referral Guidelines.
September 1973: NICHD Referral
Guidelines. To support work on "child abuse and
the unwanted child" and on "social growth".
January 1978: NICHD Referral
Guidelines. To support work on:
View Document
View Enclosure:
NICHD Ref. Guidel. 1973
View Enclosure:
NICHD Ref. Guidel. 1978
1980. Letter: April 4, 1980
Letter
from Thomas E. Malone, Ph.D., Deputy Director, NIH to Dr. Prescott that
his complaint to the Secretary, DHEW against Dr. Kretchmer
titled "Obstruction of Science and the National Health
Interest" has been treated as a personal grievance and not as a formal
complaint for violation of Public Laws and which requested a review of
the unlawful actions of the Director, NICHD and to take corrective
actions by the Secretary, DHEW, Joseph Califano.
This action by the NIH prevented a Departmental review of changed
national science policy of the NICHD established by the Congress in
Public Law 89-487; and reduced my complaint to one of "personal
interest" rather than actions "in support of the Institute's policy and
programs".
1980. Letter: April 25, 1980
NICHD
Health Scientist Administrator Dr. James Prescott is removed from
service. Reason: "Removal for improper use of
official position and resources to promote research on 'Developmental
Origins of Violence' and 'Child Abuse and Neglect', subjects that are
not within the mission of the NICHD, as part of the program of this
institute."
On the same paper the
exact name and location of Prescott's employing office is shown: "PHS,
National Institute of Health, National Institutes of Child Health and
Human Development, Center for Research for Mothers and Children, Human
Learning & Behavior BR"
View Document
1980. Letter: April
18, 1980
Letter
of Leona H. Egeland, Chairwoman, Ways
and Means Subcommittee on Health and Welfare, California State Assembly,
to Senator Alan Cranston. About "a serious problem that appears to have
developed within the National Institute of Health."
View Document
1980. Letter: Feb.
19, 1980
NICHD
Acting Director Pickett's reply to Senator Alan Cranston, Chairman,
Subcommittee on Child and Human Development, United States Senate.
Stating: "The NICHD has never supported a program of research on child
abuse and neglect."
View Document
1980. Letter: July 11, 1980
Letter of John Money, Professor of
Medical Psychology and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Johns
Hopkins Medical Institutions to Senator Alan Cranston. Statement: "I would like to recommend very strongly that you
do not accept Dr. Pickett's statement about research into child abuse
and neglect at NICHD at face value, for they do not hold water."
View Document
1979. Publication.
Prescott, J. W. (1979). Alienation of
Affection. Psychology Today
December.
http://www.violence.de/prescott/letters/Alienation_of_Affection.pdf
1980. Publication.
Prescott, J.W. (1980). Somatosensory affectional deprivation (SAD) theory of drug
and alcohol use. In:Theories On Drug Abuse: Selected
Contemporary Perspectives.
Dan J. Lettieri, Mollie Sayers and Helen Wallenstien Pearson, Eds.) NIDA Research Monograph 30, March 1980. National
Institute on Drug Abuse,
Department of Health and Human Services. Rockville, MD. http://www.violence.de/prescott/nida/drug.pdf
1980. Article:
March 15, 1980
"The
Federal Employee" reports under "NIH Hatchet-Job on Distinguished
Scientist" that Prescott as "One of the Government's foremost expert in
the field of child abuse soon may be railroaded out of his job...".
View Document
1980. Article: Oct. 7,
1980
The
Washington Child Protection Report, Vol. VI, No. 20 gives a summary of
the whole affair. Recommended.
View Page 1
View Page 2
View Page 3
View Page 4
View Page 5
1981. Letter: February 23, 1981
Letter
to DHHS Secretary Richard S. Schweiker
from Senator Charles McC. Mathias, Jr stating his concerns: "It is clear that if
we are to meet our goal of reducing deaths among young people by 20
percent by 1990, we must identify better ways of bringing violence under
control, and we must put our knowledge to work in every community". and "Could you inform me of the nature and level
of NICHD support for basic research into child abuse and neglect and
into the developmental origins of violence?
View Document
1981. Letter: May 11, 1981
Letter
to Senator McC Mathias, Jr. from DHHS
Secretary Richard S. Schweiker (some 3
months later) presenting the level of support of child abuse and neglect
research by the NICHD, yet stating: "The NICHD has never supported a
program of research on child abuse and neglect".
Child abuse and
neglect (failure of affectional bonding) results in
traumatic brain injury that has yet to be studied by the NICHD and other
federal agencies utilizing MRI and fMRI brain scans and compared to
children and young adults who have been breastfed for "two years or
longer" with no history of child abuse and neglect.
View Document
1982. Address, October 26. . Invited Address C. Everett Koop, M.D., PHS Surgeon
General and Deputy Assistant Secretary For Health, American Academy of
Pediatrics: Violence and
Public Health
http://ttfuture.org/blog/1181/another-failed-mother-infant-bond
1983, Prescott, J.W. (1983). Invited Address: The Quadrune Brain:
Cerebellar Regulation of Emotional
Behaviors. European Seminar on
Developmental Neurology. Institute fuer Kindesentwicklung, GmbH. Hamburg, Germany February
14-17, 1983.
1990. Publication
Prescott, J.W. (l990): Affectional
bonding for the prevention of violent behaviors: Neurobiological, Psychological and
Religious/Spiritual Determinants. In. Violent Behavior Vol. I: Assessment and
Intervention. (L.J. Hertzberg, et. al., Eds). PMA Publishing NY
pp. 110-14
http://
www.violence.de/prescott/Violent_Behavior_1990.pdf
1992 SSSS. Address: Brain Sexual Dimorphism:
Cerebellar-Frontal Cortical Connectivity
Prescott, J.W. (1992). Sexual Dimorphism in the
Developing Human Brain: Evidence from Lateral
Skull X-Rays. Presented in Symposium: "Genes, Hormones and Sexual
Behavior" R.T.Francoeur,
Chairman). The Society For The
Scientific Study of Sex. 1992 Annual Meeting. San
Diego, CA November
12-15. Hilton Beach
and Tennis Resort.
http://www.violence.de/prescott/ssss/paper.pdf
1994. Letter:
July 7, 1994
The White House,
Washington.
Letter by George R. Stephanopoulos, Senior Advisor to the President for
Policy and Strategy, to James Prescott: "Your findings on this topic
should prove beneficial to how our society perceives growing children."
This letter was the only reaction after the White House received
documentation of Prescott's work a month before.
View Document
1994. Publication of the "Report of the Panel on NIH Research on Antisocial,
Aggressive, and Violence-Related Behaviors and their Consequences",
Panel Meetings in June and September 1993. (Participant Dr J. W. Prescott, BioBehavioral
Systems, San Diego, CA. He presented this testimony.)
Excerpts of the NIH 1994 Report:
a) NIH Panel Findings and Recommendations:
"Violence constitutes the second leading cause of death for youth in
America, and it poses a health risk for persons of all ages." (Further Panel
Findings and Recommendations)
b) The NIH RESEARCH PORTFOLIO: "With the exception
of the National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH), violence research has
not been a major priority at NIH (25)". View Page 75.
c) "In fiscal 1992 the National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development spent about $8.9 million on research
related to violence (33) (...) Other ongoing research projects focus on
such things as self-injurious behavior, aggressive behavior in children
and adolescents, the effect of domestic violence on young children
(child abuse), and intervention to lower violence-related morbidity and
mortality among minority youth." View Page 76.
d) Appendix F: "devoting as much money to peace
studies as to studies of violence" (46) This
is the only reference to Dr. Prescott's extensive testimony. No mention
of history of NICHD research on child abuse and neglect nor developmental origins of violence. View Page 121.
e) Summary September
22-24, 1993 meeting: 2nd paragraph: "To date, investment across all
Institutes and ICDs in violence-related research has been minuscule
relative to the total NIH budget (i.e.0.5%)." View Page 138. http://www.violence.de/history/NIHR_1994.html
1996. Publication.
Prescott, J.W. (1996). The Origins of Human Love and Violence. Pre- and Perinatal Psychology
Journal. 10(3):143-188.Spring. http://www.violence.de/prescott/pppj/article.html
2003. Publication.
Prescott, J.W. (2003). Our
Two Cultural Brains: Neurointegrative and Neurodissociative that are formed by Pain and Pleasure Life Experiences
encoded in the Developing Brain http://www.violence.de/prescott/letters/Our_Two_Cultural_Brains.pdf
2005. Publication.
Prescott,
J.W.(2005): Prevention Or Therapy And The Politics of Trust: Inspiring a
New Human Agenda. in
http://www.violence.de/prescott/politics-trust.pdf
2013.
PUBLICATION.
The above Chronology of
NICHD Research Activities on Child Abuse and Neglect, established by an
Act of Congress (PL 87-838), on October 17, 1962 to its termination
on April 11, 1980 by
the unlawful termination of Dr. James W. Prescott, as Health Scientist
Administrator, Developmental Behavioral Program, NICHD who created and
led the Child Abuse Research Program, NICHD is provided for those who
are interested in why child abuse/ neglect and violence continues today as "one of the most extensive and
chronic epidemics in the Public Health of this country." (Surgeon
General Koop (October 26, 1982).
http://ttfuture.org/blog/1181/another-failed-mother-infant-bond
1980. Publication. COSMOS. Carl Sagan http://www.violence.de/BOOKS_OF_THE_CENTURY.html#Cosmos
