Goffman's Asylums and the total institution model of mental hospitals

The present report is an examination and evaluation of the importance and applicability of Goffman's Asylums three decades after its first publication. The book has achieved classic status due to its extensive academic citation, anthology reprinting, use in legal proceedings, and public influence. However, over the years the accuracy and generalizability of Goffman's total institution model of mental hospitals have been seriously questioned. An analysis of the criticisms of Goffman's theories, methods, and conclusions suggested that his work was biased and deficient in a number of ways but at times was misinterpreted or misrepresented. As a research study Asylums may be outdated and of little value to mental health practitioners due to the revolutionary changes in psychiatry that have occurred since the mid-1950s. As an academic work, however, Asylums continues to enjoy a high reputation perhaps because of its theoretical utility and teaching value as well as the popularity of Goffman's many other published works. The total institution model may have been limited from the start and doubts remain as to its validity today, but the longevity of Asylums is assured as Goffman's picture of mental hospitalization is firmly planted in the minds of sociologists, psychiatrists, patients' rights advocates, and students of formal organizations.