Insanity: Its Causes and Prevention

The author examines medical, social, and educational factors that generate mental illness and proposes prevention strategies. He links apparent increases to civilizational change, occupational pressures, and an underlying nervous predisposition that may be inherited or acquired. Detailed chapters consider the evolution of asylum care, the risks of intellectual overstimulation and inadequate industrial and moral training, influences of heredity and consanguineous marriage, and the deteriorating neurological effects of alcohol and tobacco. Emphasis is placed on recognizing predisposition and reforming education, occupation, and public habits to reduce vulnerability.