Objectives: Two major goals set the overall perimeters for this project: to trace the history of incarcerating institutions in the 20th century; to explore the fate of programs designed to serve as alternatives to incarceration. The chronological focus of the research is on the period: 1890-1940; the report's conclusions will address the current policy implications of these findings. During this past year the bulk of research under this grant has been devoted to the field of mental health: to the mental hospital and to the first efforts in the 1920's and 1930's to devise outpatient care for the mentally ill. The public role of the psychiatric profession has also been explored. Research Goals for the coming year: Among the goals are: a) to explore further the implications of the "medical model" for the society, including the impact of psychiatry in the field of child care; the child guidance clinics demand particular attention. So does the concept of "psychiatric time." (b) to examine the annual reports and state records on the care of the mentally ill. Will the patterns noted here hold up in other sections of the country. c) to use census materials and reports to provide an overall quantitative analysis of the changing population of the institutions, for the period 1890-1940. d) to analyze the public image of these institutions. The bases for institutional legitimacy is one of the primary issues that this research will pursue.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter