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Ideology and Practice of Deinstitutionalization
Author(s) -
Felton Barbara J.,
Shinn Marybeth
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1981.tb00835.x
Subject(s) - ideology , institutionalisation , constructive , psychology , divergence (linguistics) , mentally ill , criminology , perception , sociology , political science , social psychology , mental illness , psychiatry , mental health , law , politics , linguistics , philosophy , process (computing) , neuroscience , computer science , operating system
This article compares the history and current status of deinstitution‐alization efforts for the mentally ill, criminal offenders, and the aged in need of long‐term care. Evidence from other articles in this issue, and elsewhere, suggests that similar ideologies of deinstitutionalization have guided thinking for all three groups but that practices have diverged. Only the mentally ill have moved out of institutions in large numbers, and, for all three groups, many “alternatives” differ little from institutions. Society regards all three groups negatively, but with differences that are reflected in treatment goals. Effective technologies for community treatment are available for the mentally ill, and methods for preventing institutionalization are available for the aged, but few members of even these groups receive such services. The divergence between ideology and practice for the three groups highlights both the constructive force of ideology in guiding policy and research, and its capacity to distort common perceptions of practice.