Praeger Publishers Description: This 149-page book, divided into 11 easy-to-read chapters, is intended
for parents and clergy. The author is a psychologist who is now a
high school principal in Illinois. Chapters include the extent of
the problem, personality types, risk factors, the Satanic bible, power,
the Satan-God duality; rites of passage, parental styles, communications,
and suicide. The book ends with a limited set of references that
parents will have difficulty obtaining. Discussion: Satanism is very complex, but the author has dealt with the subject in a simplistic, perhaps even dishonest way. Some ethnic and religious groups may be offended by the book and parents are not likely to find it helpful. Rumors and hysteria are not covered well and the importance of considering other causes for an adolescent's depression, behavior changes, and other problems is not discussed. Missing also, is a discussion of why adolescent Satanism has become a problem today but was not in earlier generations. This book will not help parents struggling to raise adolescents and is much too simplistic for professionals. Reviewed by LeRoy Schultz, Professor of Social Work, West Virginia University.
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