PPS Sociology Flashcards
Social Theories of Risk & Uncertainty
- Social construction of risky behaviour
- The risk society thesis
What is risk society thesis
- Modern society has become increasingly occupied with preventing and managing risks it has produced
- central idea is around people trying to protect themselves from various risks requiring social negotiation (You manage your risk)
Social construction of risky behaviour
Emphases cultural relativity of risk
Identify the ways in which a disease label impacts upon the everyday social life of a person living with a chronic illness.
(i) ‘Crisis’ Model/ Labelling Theory
• Focuses on societal reaction to, rather than physical impact of living with a chronic illness.
• Conceives diagnosis of chronic illness: irreversibly changing status of individual, social process of labelling.
• Labelling= recognition of illness as a deviation from the ‘norm’ of healthiness in any given society.
• Can be comparable to how committing anti-social behaviour fall outside the norms of civil society (sufferer of chronic illness can be labelled as deviant.)
• E.g. diagnosis of an STD may carry largely -ve symbolic meanings, whilst diagnosis of MS carries a very different set of social meanings.
• Because carrying an illness is perceived due to a result of deviant behaviour, a set of shared stereotypes emerge which shape the reaction of others .. the label of deviant is put on the person with the chronic illness.
• As a consequence, may lead to behaviour-change following diagnosis = secondary deviance
• Process of secondary deviance alters a person’s perception of themselves & degree of social participation.
• Disease labels thus constitute a self-fulfilling prophecy, having the power to spoil the sufferer’s identity
• The self-imposed stigmatisation may enhance ‘imagined’ social reaction which can drastically change a person’s self-identity (‘felt stigma’).
Outline the social changes in social interactions & relationships that are typically experienced over time by individuals following diagnosis of a chronic illness.
(ii) The Negotiation Model
• Chronic illness is conceived as loss of self in a struggle to maintain ‘normality’ as a ‘trajectory’ over time.
• Conceptualises individual’s responses to the assumptions of others (in contrary to crisis model/labelling approach -arguably more dynamic than the notion of labelling in the crisis model)
• Considers struggle between individual & societal opinion of those with chronic illness.
• Disrupts the trajectories that people had for their own lives. ‘Biographical disruption’ ; this might include a change to an individual’s social interactions and relationships over time. Gradual loss of confidence in physical body-> loss of confidence in social interaction.
• This requires the individual to engage in a process of ‘renegotiation’ of their existing relationships – an active coping response to illness (known as ‘comeback’).
Uncertainty (Charmaz (2000)) = defining feature of chronic illness in relation to its development, progression and treatment. Pts ask questions following diagnosis:
- “why me?” & “why now?” in an attempt to understand the cause of the chronic illness.
- “what should I do now?” in an attempt to reevaluate their functioning
- “what will happen me?” in an attempt to plan their future and determine their prognosis
Outline the main socio-cultural and economic explanations for the U.K’s comparatively high teenage pregnancy rate
• Low expectations of education & employment opportunities for some young people.
• Ignorance about contraception (Questions relating to Sex Education)
• Mixed messages about sex from adult world.
• Gendered approach to problem - not enough focus on young men in comparison to other regions.
• High poverty gap in British Society? (Compared with Scandinavian countries where poverty gap is less)
- Large poverty gap in USA … highest teenage pregnancy rate in industrialised world.
• Cultural relationship with alcohol in UK - a factor contributing to casual & UPSI.
4 broad themes in SEU strategy to tackle causes & consequences of teenage preg:
• Joined-up action at national & local level.
• National campaign to help young people resist peer pressure & take responsibility for their choices.
• Better prevention by improving sex & relationship education.
• Provision of contraceptive advice services for young people.
Describe the sexual attitudes and behaviours prevalent among young people in the U.K.
• Research shows earlier onset & increase in sexual activity among teenagers.
• Social processes associated with this changing sexual behaviour:
- Loss of traditional family structures, changing employment patterns & social exclusion of more deprived social groups.
- Emergence of a more sexualised society in which older taboos have faded & sexual imagery & messages permeate media & info environment (children now exposed to more of these messages, many specifically targeted at the young)
- Young people’s access to info about sexual health & contraception has not kept pace with this exposure.
- diffs in attitudes towards use of contraception held by young people (Working class’ young women/men tended to feel that responsibility for contraception was up to young women alone, ‘Middle class’ young men/women hoped that there would be some sharing of responsibility)
