Statistics of the Insane The tabulation shows the number of insane in the 16 State hospitals per 100,000 of population among the native born to be 297 and among the foreign born to be 502. As the frequency of insanity among persons of advanced age is much greater than among younger persons the nationalities that constituted the bulk of the immigration to the State from 1850 to 1890, namely, Ireland and Germany, show a high rate of insanity, while the nationalities that constitute the bulk of recent immigration, namely, Austria-Hungary, Italy and Russia, show a lower rate. It is also true that many of the immigrants from the latter group of countries have not been here long enough to have full representation in the State hospitals. No statistics of the age distribution of the various nationalities constituting the population of the State at the time of the 1910 census are available. It is therefore impossible to calculate the allowances that should be made in determining the relative frequency of insanity among the various nationalities. A further comparison of fre quency of insanity among the native born and foreign born is given in the discussion of first admissions. Table 31 sets forth in detail the nativity of the patient population in each of the civil State hospitals on February 10, 1912. The highest percentages of foreign-born patients were found in the Manhattan and Central Islip State hospitals. In the former 59 per cent of the patients were foreign born and in the latter 57 per cent. The foreign born among the females in Manhattan constituted 63 per cent of the whole number. Of the total female patients in the civil State hospitals the foreign born constituted 44.1 per cent and of the total male patients, 38.8 per cent. Table 32. Patient population of the State hospitals for the criminal insane classified according to nativity, census of February 10, 1912, page 416. Table 32 shows the nativity of the patients in the two State hospitals for the criminal insane. In these institutions the males greatly outnumber the females. Statistics of the Insane The following summary of the table shows the number and per cent of patients of the various nationalities: Nativity of Patients in State Hospitals for the Criminal Insane Of the foreign born in these hospitals the Italians constituted 23.1 per cent, the Irish 20.3 per cent, the Germans 17 per cent and the Russians 12 per cent. |