Sick role

Sick role is a term used in medical sociology regarding sickness and the rights and obligations of the affected.[1] It is a concept created by American sociologist Talcott Parsons in 1951.[2]

Concept

Parsons was a functionalist sociologist, who argued that being sick means that the sufferer enters a role of 'sanctioned deviance'. This is because, from a functionalist perspective, a sick individual is not a productive member of society. Therefore this deviance needs to be policed, which is the role of the medical profession. Generally, Parsons argued that the best way to understand illness sociologically is to view it as a form of deviance which disturbs the social function of the society.

The general idea is that the individual who has fallen ill is not only physically sick, but now adheres to the specifically patterned social role of being sick. ‘Being Sick’ is not simply a ‘state of fact’ or ‘condition’, it contains within itself customary rights and obligations based on the social norms that surround it. The theory outlined three rights of a sick person and two obligations:

  • Rights:
    • The sick person is exempt from normal social roles
    • The sick person is not responsible for their condition
    • has right to be taken care of
  • Obligations:
    • The sick person should try to get well
    • The sick person should seek technically competent help and cooperate with the medical professional

There are three versions of sick role:

  1. Conditional
  2. Unconditionally legitimate
  3. Illegitimate role: condition that is stigmatized by others

See also

References
  1. Millon, Theodore; Paul H. Blaney; Roger D. Davis (1999). Oxford Textbook of Psychopathology. Oxford University Press US. pp. 446. ISBN 978-0-19-510307-6.
  2. Parsons, Talcott (1951). The Social System. Glencoe, IL: The Free Press.
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