WOMEN, FAMILIES AND THE PROVINCIAL HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE, BRITISH-COLUMBIA, 1905-1915

The article examines the role of the family in the lives of women in a turn-of-the-century psychiatric institution in British Columbia, Cana da. The continued connection between institutionalized women and their families is highlighted. Evidence drawn from the psychiatric case fil es of 774 women patients at British Columbia's Provincial Hospital for the Insane show that families significantly influenced such factors o f institutional life as the conditions of care, the timing of discharg e and the possibility of readmission. Conclusions presented here under score the negotiated and conflictual nature of asylum practice.