Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T15:07:34.361Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Psychiatrists' Assessments of Mental Illness

A Comparison of some Aspects of Thomas Scheff's approach to Labelling Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Philip Bean
Philip Bean*
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Social Science, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The labelling theory of mental illness and particularly that version formulated by Thomas Scheff has been applied to psychiatry. Studies completed by Scheff have produced considerable evidence to support labelling theory. An attempt is made here to determine to what extent labelling theory applies to a group of British psychiatrists. The results give little support to Scheff's position.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 135 , Issue 2 , August 1979 , pp. 122 - 128
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1979 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bean, P. (1978) The Times, January 3rd. Google Scholar
Gove, W. (1970) Societal reaction as an explanation of mental illness. An evaluation. American Sociological Review, 35, 873–84.Google Scholar
Lemert, E. (1967) Human Deviance, Social Problems and Social Control. Hemel Hempstead, Herts.: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Scheff, T. J. (1964) The societal reaction to deviance; ascriptive elements in the psychiatric screening of mental patients in a midwestern state. Social Problems, 11, 401–13.Google Scholar
Scheff, T. J. (1966a) Being Mentally Ill. Chicago: Aldine.Google Scholar
Scheff, T. J. (1966b) Hospitalization of the mentally ill in Italy, England and the U.S. American Philosophical Society Yearbook, 523–4.Google Scholar
Scheff, T. J. (1974) The labelling theory of mental illness. American Sociological Review, 39, 442–52.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scheff, T. J. (1975) Reply to Chauncey and Gove. American Sociological Review, 40, 252–7.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.