Stressed by Dr.
Halpern During Lecture her lecture on "Mental Hygiene" given at the Foreign Y.M.C.A.
on Tuesday, Dr. Fanny G. Halpern said that the legal theory of delinquency rests upon the doctrine that the individual is free to choose between right and wrong. Mental hygiene, on the other hand, strongly influenced current practices in the field of crime and tries to help by understanding.
The general regard of psychopathiaes with criminal ten-doneies, drug addicts and drunkards solely as offenders", the speaker said in part, "must be replaced by the concept that they are people who require treatment and moral assistance as their actions only mask psychoneurosis,"
"tas a branch of science, mental hygiene is not interested in intercede ing nor in accusing by pronunciation Of trespasser sane' or insane' which is identical with the arbitration jail' or asylum', but realizes that between the two stratefications there are plenty of trends and traits of abnormal psychology with all the maladjusted unconventional and queer characters which: cannot be understood and adjudged without la thorough knowledge of psychology.".
"Being aware of the fact that the Character of men becomes formed in his childhood, the importance of Proper child guidance became more impressive. The attitude of man towards his family, society, and towards his work as well as his reactions to difficulties in life, are closely dependent upon his style' or pattern' of life. In maturity, the behaviour of an individual is identical with the pattern of life which he had in childhood, only its outer forms and express sions will change."
"The knowledge of immediate situation of a person and of the events which preceded a nervous breakdown or suicide was recognized as not sufficient in order to understand man in trouble. The difficulty lies deeper, and the solution may only be determined by knowledge of the past history of a person which pictures all ihe influences which have been operating upon the individual from the time of his birth.
"The personality is the result of that which man experiences in the past. A wrong style of life may not po discovered as long as the individual stays in a favourable situation. "When he encounters difficulties, however, or is facing larger demands for social adjustment, his maladjustment becomes obvious and he may develop into a problem-child, neurotic, criminal or suicide,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.