The Unjustified Emotions: Child Suicide in Finnish Psychiatry from the 1930s until the 1970s

Myllykangas, Mikko; Parhi, Katariina

doi:10.1353/hcy.2016.0053

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…The acknowledgement of environmental factors grew, and the interpretation of children's psychiatric problems changed, but the change was nonetheless gradual. It would appear that the diagnosis of psychopathy, focusing on the hereditary and inborn nature of deviance, was retained in Pitkäniemi, although during the course of the 1950s, the diagnosis ceased to be applied to children (Myllykangas and Parhi, 2016). Different time phases in the patient records offer some interesting insights into changes concerning interpretations about the socioeconomic status of the family.…”

Section: Drunken Fathers and Nervous Mothersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By the 1950s, new knowledge about children's mental health changed the application of the diagnosis of psychopathy (Myllykangas and Parhi, 2016). Vuoristo and Torma's study in 1950 indicated that harmful environmental factors were crucial in catalysing symptoms that resembled those of psychopathy (Torma and Vuoristo, 1950).…”

Section: Drunken Fathers and Nervous Mothersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Heredity as a burden: causes of children’s behavioural problems in Finnish psychiatry between the 1920s and 1950s

Parhi

2019

Palgrave Commun

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This article analyses interpretations of the causes of children's behavioural problems in early child psychiatry in Finland from the 1920s until the 1950s. The era was prepsychodynamic, and psychiatrists stressed biological explanations, which were based on hereditary factors. The source material consists of patient records of children diagnosed with psychopathy in Pitkäniemi Hospital, which operated as one of the state mental hospitals. The focus is on the ways in which the causes of behavioural problems were described, paying special attention to mentions of socioeconomic factors, and adopting a present-centred perspective on analysing the past. Although psychiatrists described details like family background and parental occupations, they did not necessarily use them to point out connections between socioeconomic factors and behavioural problems. On the contrary, in many cases, there was no indicated correlation. This is not to say that socioeconomic factors did not exist or were not acknowledged, but rather that they were discussed in a different light. The assumption of biologically oriented psychiatry, namely that behavioural problems were primarily hereditary, is prevalent in the case records. Some children improved while in hospital and subsequently returned home, or were placed with other families, or in children's homes. Those who were perceived to be permanently antisocial were placed in reform schools. The change in a child's behaviour seems to have been crucial in forming a prognosis, which implies that there was a clear belief in the curative atmosphere of the hospital, providing that the child's character was corrigible. The focus on socioeconomic factors contrasts with the ways in which psychiatrists at that time perceived and documented the causes of behavioural problems, and helps explain why something, which seems evident in retrospect, was not apparent at the time.

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Section: Drunken Fathers and Nervous Mothersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Drunken Fathers and Nervous Mothersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heredity as a burden: causes of children’s behavioural problems in Finnish psychiatry between the 1920s and 1950s

Parhi

2019

Palgrave Commun

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“…In addition, David J Robertson (2022) defended a doctoral thesis in history on mental health research and psychiatric epidemiology, the publication of which we eagerly await. Last but not least, a new case study has just been published on Finland (Myllykangas and Parhi, 2023).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction to Special Issue: Geneses, organizations and transformations of psychiatric epidemiology

Delille,

Lézé

2023

Hist Psychiatry

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Recent historiography has revealed a growing interest in the developments of psychiatric epidemiology. This volume aims to explicitly tackle the problem of transforming a diversity of knowledge into a structured scientific unit. Furthermore, it aims to answer this by bringing together historical studies that demonstrate how epistemic authority has led to the hierarchization of knowledge and the institutionalization of psychiatric epidemiology. Interdisciplinary research teams are traced back in history, and their organization is interrogated. Tracing the history of psychiatric epidemiology involves an exploration of disciplinary divisions of labour, such as how survey methods are based on theoretical frameworks, how research programmes are regulated with political and moral ideals, and how the wider public recognizes public health expertise.

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Clinician Response to a Child Who Completes Suicide

Al-Mateen

Jones

Linker

et al. 2018

Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America

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The Unjustified Emotions: Child Suicide in Finnish Psychiatry from the 1930s until the 1970s

Cited by 3 publications

References 9 publications

Heredity as a burden: causes of children’s behavioural problems in Finnish psychiatry between the 1920s and 1950s

Heredity as a burden: causes of children’s behavioural problems in Finnish psychiatry between the 1920s and 1950s

Introduction to Special Issue: Geneses, organizations and transformations of psychiatric epidemiology

Clinician Response to a Child Who Completes Suicide

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