Social Class and the Mental Health Movement

A study of the nature of the content of the mental health message found in mental health pamphlets & the relationship of this content to the class characteristics of the audience reached. A sample of mental health pamphlets addressed to the general public & primarily concerned with a description of mental health was analyzed for dominant themes pertaining to the characteristics of mental health & how this state can be attained. A determination based upon generalizations drawn from the sociol'al literature pertaining to diff's between Me & Lc values & orientations was made as to whether the themes involved Me or Lc values & orientations. Approximately 60% of the text examined was comprised of statements which could be identified as falling into a Me cultural mold. The bulk of the remaining material consisted of platitudes & vague, valueladen words. The primary conclusion drawn was that there is an essential similarity between Me values & orientations & the concept of mental health put forth in the pamphlets. The signif of the findings for diverse sub-systems was discussed within a functional framework. It was proposed that certain unintended & unrecognized consequences of these educational efforts may be operative which are basically antithetical to the intent of promoting mental health. Through its unwitting propagation of the Me ethic, under the guise of sci, the mental health movement is helping to support features of a soc system often regarded by soc sci'ts as linked to mental illness. AA.