The scientific foundation of anti-psychiatry

Anti-psychiatry has exerted a substantial influence on the thoughts of workers in the field of mental hygiene; on those of the psychiatrically trained, but even much more on those without psychiatric training. Consequently it seemed important to me to investigate the strength of the foundation of this school of thought. This has been the objective of this study. The point of crystallization of anti-psychiatry is the labelling theory on the origin of deviant behaviour. The scientific status of anti-psychiatry stands or falls with that of the labelling theory. Since this theory has not been formulated in verifiable hypotheses, I ventured to formulate "theses", and then tested these against empirical obtained data. The results of this study were largely negative. The empirical material does not support the labelling theory, and in many cases even contradicts it. Consequently anti-psychiatry--as a model to explain the development of psychological disorders--has not a leg to stand on. The labelling theory has had great merits as a "sensitizing theory". It has given momentum to innovative tendencies in psychiatry. Now that it has proved to be untenable on its principal points, however, it should be abandoned. It has become a rubber check, which has no scientific buying-power.