To the evolution of the concept of «psychopathy» in Russian psychiatry: from F.V. Rybakov to T.I. Yudin

Abstract

The changes in the concept of psychopathy in Russian psychiatry from the beginning of twentieth century through examples of several works of native psychiatrists: F.E. Rybakov, S.A. Sukhanov, P.B. Gannushkin, V.P. Osipov, T.I. Yudin are analyzed. The tendency to transformation of the concept of «general degenerative constitution» into the concept of relatively discrete types of psychopathic personalities is delineated. The understanding of «degenerative psychopathy» as unitary predisposition to the «degenerative psychoses», inborn disharmony of character with its multivarious innumerable variants and different forms of «deficiencies», including intellectual, is experiencing transformation to the numerically limited separated types of psychopathic personalities and pathological characters related to the appropriate more pronounced psychiatric diseases. This trend in the native psychiatry reflects also the general trends of understanding of psychopathies and pathological characters in Russian, German and French psychiatry and psychology.