False diagnosis of mental disorder

Mistaken diagnosis of a mental disorder can have very serious consequences for the patient, including loss of liberty, compulsory sterilization, and rejection by society in general.

In the 1930's though 1970's, numerous Swedish women were unjustly diagnosed as anti-social or mentally ill for inadequacies such as failure to read a blackboard due to lack of eyeglasses or failure to learn one's catechism. These women were institutionalized, and some were not allowed to leave the mental institution unless they agreed to be sterilized.