Role of Social Sciences in Policy Making Criticized at Hearing
The role of social science in policy making and the credibility of APA were
attacked June 7 at a Senate Judiciary Committee Youth Violence Subcommittee
hearing on 'Welfarežs Effects on Youth Violence.'
APA Board Member Don Bersoff, PhD, JD, testified on the spurious links between
welfare payments and violence, and welfare and out-of-wedlock births. In
response to Dr. Bersoff's testimony, another panel member, Patrick Fagan,
Senior Policy Analyst for Family and Culture at the Heritage Foundation, railed
against APA's interpretation of current welfare research. Mr. Fagan dismissed
the role of the social sciences in policy applications when conclusions drawn
from research counter those of 'common sense' and argued further that social
science 'is a very expensive way of confirming what we already know.'
Another panel member, John Wootton of Safe Streets, also belittled the role of APA
and the social and behavioral sciences in policy making. Responding to a line
of questioning from Subcommittee Chairman Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN), Mr. Wootton
stated, 'The worldview of APA is that fathers aren't necessary to raising good
kids.' This statement is not an accepted belief of APA, and in fact, APA has
testified before Congress and other panels on the negative effects of marital
separation on children.
In a letter to Sen. Thompson, APA has condemned these unfortunate and ill-informed
remarks, which only served to distract attention from the serious matters before
the committee.
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