There is increasing concern among mental health professionals that the escalating arms race and the accompanying threat of nuclear war are having a detrimental effect on the mental health of people in modern society. Of particular concern has been the impact of the nuclear war threat on children and adolescents [1-3]. The existing empirical work presents a consistent and disconcerting picture. From the earliest studies, conducted before and during the time of the Cuban missile crisis [4,5], through a recent American Psychiatric Association Task Force survey [1,6], it is clear that children and adolescents know and care about the threat of nuclear war and feel powerless and hopeless in the face ofthat threat. Mack concluded: . . . these adolescents are deeply disturbed by the threat of nuclear war, have doubt about the future, and about their own survival. . . . There is also cynicism, sadness, bitterness, and a sense of [6. P. 19]. A recurring theme in the growing literature on the impact of the nuclear war threat on the development of young people is the importance of adult role models in helping young people to deal with their fears. Children perceive that the adult generation is unable or unwilling to halt the arms race. Escalona's 1965 conclusion They see in their elders evasion or lethargy based on underlying fear and fatalism [2. P. 208]is echoed in more recent discussions [7] . Several theorists have argued that little can be done to help young people conquer their feelings of fear and helplessness unless adults act in a manner that