DISCOURSES IN DUTCH CHILD WELFARE INQUIRIES

Over the last century, the position of the family in Holland has changed deeply. Child protection agencies play an important role in the new relationship between public institutions and the private life of families. The family is no longer a totality, but a collection of individual interests that are reinforced by the various institutions. These changes become manifest in the discourse of child protection. A content analysis of 144 dossiers of Child Welfare Councils from 1930 and 1975 shows a psychologization of the argumentation that is used by reporters.