Eugenics as a Factor in the Prevention of Mental Disease

This essay examines the rising burden of mental disease and its economic and institutional costs, arguing that treatment alone cannot meet the growing need. It surveys statistical trends, considers hereditary factors and Mendelian concepts while emphasizing the complexity of inheritance, and evaluates intelligence and temperament testing used to distinguish normal and neuropathic types. Drawing on New York State hospital data, it reports proportions of patients with and without apparent familial predisposition and variation across diagnostic groups, and it considers eugenic prevention as a potential factor while warning against simplistic attributions and urging careful etiological study before judging family stock.