Weinstein R M
University of South Carolina, Aiken 29801.
Psychiatry. 1994 Nov;57(4):348-67. doi: 10.1080/00332747.1994.11024699.
The present report is an examination and evaluation of the importance and applicability of Goffman's Asylums three decades after its first publication. The book has achieved classic status due to its extensive academic citation, anthology reprinting, use in legal proceedings, and public influence. However, over the years the accuracy and generalizability of Goffman's total institution model of mental hospitals have been seriously questioned. An analysis of the criticisms of Goffman's theories, methods, and conclusions suggested that his work was biased and deficient in a number of ways but at times was misinterpreted or misrepresented. As a research study Asylums may be outdated and of little value to mental health practitioners due to the revolutionary changes in psychiatry that have occurred since the mid-1950s. As an academic work, however, Asylums continues to enjoy a high reputation perhaps because of its theoretical utility and teaching value as well as the popularity of Goffman's many other published works. The total institution model may have been limited from the start and doubts remain as to its validity today, but the longevity of Asylums is assured as Goffman's picture of mental hospitalization is firmly planted in the minds of sociologists, psychiatrists, patients' rights advocates, and students of formal organizations.
本报告是对戈夫曼的《精神病院》首次出版三十年后其重要性和适用性的审视与评估。由于其被广泛的学术引用、选入文集再版、在法律程序中的应用以及公众影响力，这本书已获得经典地位。然而，多年来，戈夫曼关于精神病院的全控机构模式的准确性和普遍性受到了严重质疑。对针对戈夫曼理论、方法和结论的批评进行分析表明，他的作品在许多方面存在偏见和缺陷，但有时也被误解或歪曲。作为一项研究，由于自20世纪50年代中期以来精神病学发生了革命性变化，《精神病院》可能已经过时，对心理健康从业者的价值不大。然而，作为一部学术著作，《精神病院》或许因其理论效用、教学价值以及戈夫曼其他众多已出版作品的受欢迎程度而继续享有盛誉。全控机构模式可能从一开始就受到限制，其如今的有效性仍存疑问，但《精神病院》经久不衰，因为戈夫曼描绘的精神病院图景已深深印刻在社会学家、精神科医生、患者权益倡导者以及正式组织研究者的脑海中。
