Family interactions as etiological factors in mental disorders: An analysis of the American Journal of Insanity, 1844-1848.

Abstract

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.