[p.3] Yet one of the principal aims of the law is to protect children and, as everyone who deals with such cases freely admits, the legal procedure may do more harm to the child than the original offenses, and may indeed be the only cause of serious upset.
[p.14] Comparison shows that in the court cases there were fewer without overt disturbance. Some 56% of the random sample appeared to recover quickly, but this could only be said about 18% of those of this group who came to court. It is, of course, not possible to attribute the difference only or mainly to court involvement. Much depends upon the previous maladjustment. Moreover, it can be argued that cases coming to court are in general more serious. But it is well known that the gravity of a crime tells one little about the personality of the offender; and the individual records convinced one that the nature of the assault was not closely related to the severity of the disturbance. Rape may on ocassion have less effect than a minor assault.