The perception of U.S.-Soviet intentions and other psychological dimensions of the nuclear arms race.

The build-up of the authors' nuclear arsenal has created a new set of issues of particular concern to mental health professionals, including an understanding of the overwhelming scale of the medical emergency threatened by nuclear war or accident.

Abstract

The build-up of our nuclear arsenal has created a new set of issues of particular concern to mental health professionals. These include: an understanding of the overwhelming scale of the medical emergency threatened by nuclear war or accident; the impact of the arms race on children and adolescents; the need to deal with various forms of fantasy and make-believe on the part of adults, in particular the effect of the nuclear responsibility on those in authority; and the need to find new ways of understanding and defining security in conflicted relationships.