Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
The implementation of the Mental Health Act, 1983 affords an opportunity to re-examine some of the background to the new legislation and to place it within a wider historical context of public and professional attitudes towards the mentally disordered. No attempt is made to chart these developments in detail, but sufficient source material is provided for those who wish to pursue the study of this important topic further.
Herschel Prins (1984) studied this question.