This article compares the reported experiences of children and adolescents
receiving inpatient treatment in contemporary psychiatric hospital settings
with those of women institutionalized in mental hospitals from 1840 to 194
5. Qualitative data include case study material from former psychiatrically
hospitalized patients and archival narratives. Analysis includes matching
themes from in-depth interviews with archival narratives. Nine representati
ve experiences emerged and are presented in a typology under broader themes
of structure, process, and outcome. Similarity of patient experiences over
two centuries leads to questions about the meaning of advances in understa
nding mental illnesses in the context of attitudes, biases, and staff behav
ior toward patients that remains disturbingly unchanged. Copyright (C) 1998
by W.B. Saunders Company.