Imbecile (c. 1860 - c. 1960)

Imbecile is a term used as an alternative to 'mental deficiency' or 'mental retardation'.

Mental Hygiene Act of 1938 (1938 - c. 1962)
The Mental Hygiene Act of 1938 attempted to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness by changing words such as "lunatic", "imbelcile", "insane" and "asylum", to "mentally sick", "mental illness" and "mental hospital". However, the term continued to be used in the Annual Reports of the Department of Health and Home Affairs and the Department of Health up until the late 1960s.

Prepared by: Lee Butterworth

Created: 29 April 2013, Last modified: 11 November 2013