Encouraging home care: Family involvement in the care of female mental patients in the Straits Settlements (1900–1930)

Abstract

This article examines the changing role of family involvement in caring for female mental patients in the Straits Settlements from the late 19th century to 1930. Using Reports, Medical Department records, and correspondence, it shows how colonial policy gradually shifted responsibility from hospitals to households, especially for women with mild or stabilised illness. What began as a response to overcrowding evolved into efforts to educate families, promote visitation, and build ties. Home routines and activities reframed mental illness from supernatural to medical and domestic terms. Families faced economic strains but became central to recovery and reintegration through care and handicrafts. By 1930, it was extended to the Federated Malay States, reflecting negotiated caregiving shaped by gender norms and kinship.