Vander Stoep A, Link B
Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA.
Am J Public Health. 1998 Sep;88(9):1396-402. doi: 10.2105/ajph.88.9.1396.
This paper revisits a landmark study of the prevalence of mental illness in the state of Massachusetts conducted by Edward Jarvis in the 19th century. Jarvis drew an improper conclusion about the relationship between social class, ethnicity, and insanity, asserting that the Irish foreign-born had a higher prevalence of insanity in each social stratum. A reanalysis of Jarvis' data shows that in both the pauper and independent social classes in Massachusetts, the prevalence of insanity was significantly lower among foreign-born persons than among native-born persons. On the basis of his misperception, Jarvis constructed elaborate etiological theories. These theories made a strong impact on the mental health service policies of his day. The effects of incomplete examination of data on etiological theories and mental health policy in current times are highlighted in this article.
本文重新审视了19世纪爱德华·贾维斯对马萨诸塞州精神疾病患病率进行的一项具有里程碑意义的研究。贾维斯就社会阶层、种族与精神错乱之间的关系得出了一个错误结论，声称在每个社会阶层中，外国出生的爱尔兰人精神错乱的患病率更高。对贾维斯数据的重新分析表明，在马萨诸塞州的贫民和独立社会阶层中，外国出生者的精神错乱患病率显著低于本土出生者。基于他的错误认知，贾维斯构建了详尽的病因理论。这些理论对他那个时代的心理健康服务政策产生了重大影响。本文强调了当前数据审查不完整对病因理论和心理健康政策的影响。
