Nineteenth Century Views of Children's Behavior Disorders: Historical Contributions and Continuing Issues
JAMES M. KAUFFMAN, Ed.D. University of Virginia Present-day descriptions of 19th century literature regarding children with behavior disorders have typically sketched a picture of ignorance, neglect, abuse, superstition, hopelessness, mindlessness. and resignation. Our historical reviews have varied widely, ranging from terse dismissal (e.g., Despert, 1965; Kanner, 1957, 1962; Lewis, 1974; Rubenstein. 1948) to more thorough and reasoned evaluation of the richness and relevance of the literature of that era (e-g., Harms, 1967; Hoffman, 1974. 1975; Rie. 1971). I t is true that the literature of the 1800s was meager by current standards, that in many ways children were described as miniature adults (psychologically), and that bizarre ideas (such as the notions that insanity could be caused by masturbation, by studying too hard. or by watching someone have an epileptic seizure) were persistent. However, i t is also clear that most of our histories of childhood behavior disorders have consistently contained certain inaccuracies and distortions that have led to an underestimation of the extent of the 19th century literature and its value for approaching present-day problems. This article examines reasons for 'the inaccuracies and distortions in previous historical reviews. Excerpts from 19th century writing are provided to counteract these inaccuracies and distortions. Finally, the relevance of 19th century thought for several continuing issues in the field is briefly discussed.