Gudrun Sophie Brun (1906-1993) and her book Børn og skilsmisse, Gyldendal, 1973 ("Children and Divorce")

Disclaimer: I have been able to use very few sources to the text below. If any facts are misrepresenting her life or work or is in error - please let me know so that the text can be improved. If anyone has contact with the Brun family - please ask them to contact me:  bjorn.cedervall //at// ompa.se /BC February 2022

Background and context of Gudrun Brun's life as a physcian
Gudrun Brun, born Kjaer, was the daughter of a physician. Her uncle was also a physi-cian. As a girl her father often brought Gudrun with him to visit patients in differents environments and with different medical conditions. She began studying medicine in 1926 to become a licensed physician in 1934. In 1933 she married Georg Constantin Brun (1905-2005, chief physician, PhD in medicine). She continued higher studies to receive a PhD i medicine in 1940. That same year she was employed at the psychiatric department at Bispebjerg Hospital and became head of the Department of Child Psychiatry in 1949. In 1954 she became the first woman to be a head physician in the municipality of Copenhagen.

Director of the relatively new child psychiatry department of the Copenhagen mulicipal hospital...

Children of Gudrun and Georg Brun: Fritz, Birgitte and Susanne.

The book "Barn och Skilsmässa" (1974)

This book is probably the only early European example of a work essentially describing what today is called parental alienation.

Material: Journal notes from around 1960-1970 relating to 322 divorcing families with about 500 children involved, ages:

80: < 2 years old, 43: 2-5 years old, 92: 5-10 years old, 57: 10-15 years old, 15: > 15 years old.

The parents were grouped as follows:

The chapter "Indoctrination" (pages 121-140)

The chapter "The effects of the divorce on the child" (pages 141-147)


The chapter "Results of the study with regard to visitations rights and care (pages 148-159)

The chapter "Discussion" and addendum (pages 160-169)

Sources

Gudrun Brun, Barn och skilsmässa, Wahlström & Widstrand, 1974:1-176 (Translation into Swedish from the Danish original, expert checking of legal content: Laila Freivalds - Swedish Minister of Justice 1988-1991, 1994-2000).

Inger P. Davis, Adoloscents: Theoretical and Helping Perspectives, International Series in Social Welfare, Kluwer Nilhoff Publishing, 1985 (about 265 pages).

My heritage (Georg Constantin Brun).

Gudrun Brun (1906-1993) Brun Gudrun Sophie, Dansk Kvindehistoria: Dansk kvinde-biografisk leksikon.

https://www.kvinfo.dk/side/597/bio/321/