ABSTRACT
Mental hygiene constitutes for the sociologist a twofold interest, first as a social movement and second as an applied science. It is difficult to determine whether mental hygiene practices are really conducive to it. The conception of mental hygiene, then, will embrace simply the movement and the point of view called by that name. The vertical dimension in society is not limited to the wider or smaller circles; it is coextensive with the social. To show that mental hygiene has neglected genuine factors, and to indicate further why it has done so, it is worthwhile to reflect upon some possible connections between the class structure and mental disorder. Mental hygiene can plunge into evaluation, into fields the social sciences would not touch, because it possesses an implicit ethical system which enables it to pass value judgments, to get public support, and to enjoy an unalloyed optimism. Scientific knowledge of mental disorder requires knowledge of social determinants.
