SICK ROLE, DEVIANCE AND LABELING

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SICK ROLE, DEVIANCE AND LABELING

• Kai-Lit Phua,PhD FLMI
• Associate Professor
• School of Medicine Health Sciences
• Monash University Malaysia

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Biographical Details

• Kai-Lit Phua received his BA (cum laude) in
  Public Health Population Studies from the
  University of Rochester and his PhD in Sociology
  (Medical Sociology) from Johns Hopkins
  University. He also holds professional
  qualifications from the insurance industry.
• Prior to joining academia, he worked as a
  research statistician for the Maryland Department
  of Health and Mental Hygiene and for the Managed
  Care Department of a leading insurance company in
  Singapore.
• He was awarded an Asian Public Intellectual
  Senior Fellowship by the Nippon Foundation in
  2003.

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What is the Sick Role?

• Talcott Parsons
• Role behaviour obligations expected from a
  person occupying a particular social position
  e.g. student, daughter, wife, mother,
  nurse
• Role conflict
• Sick role behaviour obligations expected from
  a sick person

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Four Aspects of the Sick Role

• The sick person is not at fault for being sick
• The sick person is excused from usual (everyday)
  responsibilities
• The sick person must get well as soon as possible
• The sick person must seek professional help

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Criticisms of the Sick Role Concept

• Criticisms of each of the 4 aspects
• Limits to its application e.g. it is good for a
  person with an acute disease but not for a person
  with a chronic disease (such as diabetes
  mellitus, hypertension, arthritis)

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Deviance

• Persistent deviation from generally accepted
  behaviour or lifestyles
• Can be contentious as to what is deviant e.g.
  sub-cultures that are considered deviant by the
  rest of society (such as bikers and homosexuals)
  

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Response of Others to Deviance

• 1. Mockery e.g. gender identity disorder
• 2. Avoidance e.g. HIV/AIDS victims
• 3. Ostracism/Exile e.g. lepers in Middle Ages
• 4. Persecution/Discrimination e.g. homosexuals
• 5. Violence e.g. physical harm, killing of sexual
  deviants such as homosexuals in Iran
• 6. Forced medical treatment e.g. drug addicts
  forced to undergo rehabilitation treatment

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Labeling Theory

• This theory argues that the labeling of someone
  as deviant will make the person adopt the
  deviant identity eventually

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Badness versus Sickness

• Badness deviant (should be punished)
• Sickness not bad, but sick (should be treated)
• Are the Following Examples of Badness or
  Sickness?
• Substance abuse e.g. alcoholism
• Suicide e.g. attempting suicide
• Personality disorders
• Sexual deviance e.g. homosexuality, paedophilia
• Compulsive gambling
• Religious or political extremism

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THE END

• THANK YOU