Radical Psychiatry

• Radical psychiatrist Liang says the family can be abusive to children and causes mental illnesses
• Radical Psychiatry says the nuclear family causes mental illness in children
• Leach


  • The family is the first key to madness and may be the cause of some mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. An understanding of people diagnosed as mentally unwell could come from exploring the social contexts of their family lives and relationships with their families and how power/authority is distributed in the home.
• Liang


  • Parents who in social settings would be regarded act like gangsters and terrorise children to conform to societal norms and values, e.g. children must show respect for authority and elders or face punishments (sometimes domestic abuse).
• Liang


  • Describes the modern family as 'an overloaded electrical circuit' and states it was a place of conflict 'where parents fight and children rebel'. He believes that the isolated nuclear family does not benefit its members and has been 'emotionally catastrophic' as there is nobody to turn to during disagreements (where the point of support is no longer available due to every participant being in conflict).
• Functionalist Parsons


  • The family is set up for the primary socialisation of children, adults emotionally support children, not terrorise them. The parent's role is to effectively socialise them, it's not a forced process, it's teaching them norms and values.
• Functionalist Parsons


  • Gender roles lead to harmony and mutual support of all members (Fem - expressive, Male - instrumental). These roles ensure all tasks and responsibilities are distributed accordingly, this shows how the family supports each other.