Abstract

DUALDE BELTRAN, Fernando. La prevention of mental illness in spainish psychiatry during franquism: schizophrenia, eugenics and premarital counselling. Rev. Asoc. Esp. Neuropsiq. [online]. 2004, n.92, pp.131-161. ISSN 2340-2733.

This article develops the idea that franquism introduced a break in Spanish psychiatry more related to the form than to its contents. After a review work on eugenics in Spain, we analize the theoretical approches maintained by some Spanish psychiatrists, namely Vallejo Nágera, Sarró Burbano, Solé Sagarra and Marco Merenciano. These authors wrote about schizophrenia, a psychosis with a hipothesized -but never found- organic basis and also a major problem of psychiatric assistance that gave way to eugenic considerations. Their approach on that matter, yet elaborated before the civil war, was based more on moral reasons than on a sound theoretical ground, and rejected determinism in favor of enviromental measures favoured by the authoritarism of Franco"s regime

Keywords : Eugenics; psychiatric theory; Spain; history; 20th century.

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