This study analyses the fact that young adults under the age of 21 were sent to mental institutions in the early 20th century. To further examine this statement, three main questions provide insights about life inside of the mental hospital in Växjö, Sweden. What factors did overall result in psychiatric care for young adults in the early 20thcentury? By using microhistory as a historical method, what aspects can indicate patient's subordinate role at the hospital? How can the psychiatric institutions be viewed from a disciplinary standpoint while focusing on the power they possess over underage individuals? The chosen institution is called Sankt Sigfrid's hospital (alsoWexio hospital) and provides valuable records and journals between the years of 1907and 1921, on which the study is based on. The results show that a total of 38 patients were admitted to the hospital under this period. Generally, there were 5 different illnesses that resulted in psychiatric care and dementia primaria was the most common one. The ages ranged between 11 and 20, with 20 as the most common age when arriving at the hospital. According to the results, most patients came from a background of farming and landowning. Poor relief was the most common factor for young adults being admitted to the hospital, whereas the second most common factor was the father overseeing the decision. Furthermore, 4 patients were part of a microhistorical study which primarily concluded that they were being subjected to constraint by the hospital. Since the material is examined from a disciplinary standpoint where the hospital is viewed in a position of power, the result is an example of psychiatric expansion through the country. This maintains the belief that psychiatric care developed through different phases of the 19th and 20th century and thus were in constant reform, whereas this study is merely an example of this process of developing.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:lnu-100474 |
| Date | January 2020 |
| Creators | Wallman, Isabelle |
| Publisher | Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för kulturvetenskaper (KV) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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