Comic Books Help Reveal Children’s Emotional Problems

Comic books like “Superman” and “Son of Satan” and violent television programs are useful, if unorthodox, tools in diagnosing and treating emotional problems in children, two psychiatrists say.

“There’s a real tendency to overestimate the (negative) effect of violence on TV and in comic books,” Dr. Duke Fisher, a Torrance child and adolescent psychiatrist, said in an interview.

Fisher said he often uses a child’s comic book preferences to diagnose and treat emotional problems.

Fear of Stepfather

“I had a 9-year-old who was afraid to talk about the fear he had for his stepfather--that the stepfather was trying to take his mother away from him,” Fisher recalled.

“And then I got him to talk about this villain in his favorite comic book who was doing something very similar to what his stepfather was doing. And when you make that connection, he began to talk, to loosen up.”

To a child, a comic book or a violent TV program does not mean violence, Fisher said. “It means power and control. The good guys versus the bad guys like you see in ‘Batman and Robin.’

“It’s beneficial for them to see this kind of struggle--to see the super hero win. Seeing good prevailing helps them organize their own feelings.”

Reliable Characters

Dr. John Sealy, a child psychiatrist at Del Amo Hospital in Torrance, said children look forward to reading comic books because the characters are reliable and consistent issue after issue.

Comic books are to kids what television soaps are to adults, Sealy said, adding that comics help children better understand their own strengths and weaknesses.

The children and teen-agers Sealy treats are typically well-versed in comic book literature. From the kind of comics they read, Sealy said he is able to detect the kinds of problems they may be having.

“The boy who collects ‘Son of Satan,’ which is about a hero working to convince his father to become good, reflected a boy who might be having a lot of negative feelings about his father,” Sealy said.

Helpless Feeling

“The Hulk,” a comic depicting a man whose power is generated by his anger and rage, might be attractive to the young person who is feeling helpless or is being abused and enjoys having this fantasy, thinking he may someday be able to strike out at his parents or friends, Sealy added.

Sealy said the “Superman” follower is not as likely to be as emotionally well-developed as the “Batman and Robin” reader.

“You see, Batman’s powers are not inherited like Superman’s. They come from his own discipline, by working hard,” he said. “And that’s healthy for a child to realize.”

Comic books and violent TV are not nearly as psychologically rewarding for adults, Fisher said.

Some adults are much more prone to act out the blood-letting they see on TV, Fisher said, particularly if they have a problem with their temper or a history of destructive behavior, Fisher said.

Violent Drinker

Fisher recalled treating a woman in her early 20s. “When she drank, she would become extremely violent,” he said. “And one time, when she saw a ‘Charlie’s Angels’ show, she got very brutal with her boyfriend.

“She imitated the violent acts she saw--and she already knew some karate--and began hitting her boyfriend, much to his dismay.”

Fisher said it was not the TV program that triggered the woman’s assault, but it gave her the “model to act out her violence, her feelings of aggression.”

A child, by contrast, could see that same “Charlie’s Angels” episode, but would not necessarily zero in on the violent portions, but on a person triumphing over someone evil, Fisher said.

Good Over Evil

“And that gives them the feeling that good people win over bad, and that’s necessary at that age,” he said.

In treating a 13-year-old recently, Fisher said he asked the boy what TV program he most hated. The youth said he detested “Three’s Company,” saying he hated how the main character (John Ritter) “teased the women.”

“Well, it turned out that his father acted like that character, teasing his mother, being very superficial in his dealings with the whole family,” Fisher said.