| Summary: |
This paper discusses, first, what child psychiatry - and in particular a form of clinic-based psychiatry called ‘child guidance’ - entailed in the first half of the twentieth century. In particular we look at notions such as ‘maladjustment’ and ‘instability’ and why these might afflict even the most apparently ‘normal’ child. Second, we look at the broader historical, and particularly intellectual, context. It is noted, for example, that in other fields of science and scientific medicine ideas about instability also featured strongly. Third and finally, we then examine what all this meant for definitions of a ‘normal’ child in mental health terms and how such ideas have helped shape and inform contemporary perceptions of childhood. |
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