Am J Psychiatry 1975; 132:1327-1329
Copyright © 1975 by American Psychiatric Association
Family interactions as etiological factors in mental disorders: An analysis of the American Journal of Insanity, 1844-1848
WR McPeak
A review of the first four volumes of the American Journal of Insanity
indicated that the primary etiological factor noted by authors during that
period was disturbed brain functioning, although emotional factors were
often mentioned as additional explanations for mental illness. The
influence of familial factors and interactions on the development of mental
illness was rarely explored. The author concludes that psychiatry at this
time did not yet recognize the importance of the dynamics of and
interpersonal stresses within family relationships.
