The DOI matches its Crossref record; 87 of the 87 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 1 of the 28 sources its claims cite were checked for support.
The Social Construction of Illness: Key Insights and Policy Implications
Abstract
The social construction of illness is a major research perspective in medical sociology. This article traces the roots of this perspective and presents three overarching constructionist findings. First, some illnesses are particularly embedded with cultural meaning—which is not directly derived from the nature of the condition—that shapes how society responds to those afflicted and influences the experience of that illness. Second, all illnesses are socially constructed at the experiential level, based on how individuals come to understand and live with their illness. Third, medical knowledge about illness and disease is not necessarily given by nature but is constructed and developed by claims-makers and interested parties. We address central policy implications of each of these findings and discuss fruitful directions for policy-relevant research in a social constructionist tradition. Social constructionism provides an important counterpoint to medicine’s largely deterministic approaches to disease and illness, and it can help us broaden policy deliberations and decisions.
Overview
AI snapshot
Written from the paper’s full text.
TL;DR
This article reviews the social construction of illness perspective in medical sociology, tracing its roots and synthesizing three key findings: cultural meanings of illness, the socially constructed illness experience, and socially constructed medical knowledge. It argues these findings have policy implications and can broaden policy deliberations by countering medicine’s largely deterministic approaches.
Key findings
- Some illnesses carry cultural meanings not directly derived from biology, shaping social responses and the experience of illness; examples include stigmatized illnesses (e.g., epilepsy, HIV/AIDS), contested illnesses (e.g., chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivity), and disability as socially constructed. Policy implication: shift emphasis from biomedically fixing individuals toward changing the social and cultural context that gives illnesses negative meaning.
- All illnesses are socially constructed at the experiential level: people enact illness, construct identity, and manage daily life. Research uses in-depth interviews and insider views; Charmaz describes how chronic illness can shrink worlds, and millions of American women identify as breast cancer survivors and activists. Policy implications include moving from “compliance” to context-centered strategies, using illness narratives in pain management, and addressing lay knowledge and illness identities.
- Medical knowledge is socially constructed by claims-makers and interested parties. Feminist, science studies, and medicalization research show how medical ideas can reproduce gender, class, and racial-ethnic inequality and how diagnoses and markets expand—e.g., male impotence was renamed “erectile dysfunction” in the late 1990s, the FDA approved Viagra in 1998, and Pfizer marketed it to a broader audience. Policy implication: critically examine how problems are framed, because definitions shape policy and can authorize social control.
Methods
- Design: conceptual/review article, not an empirical study; it traces intellectual roots and synthesizes constructionist literature over the last 50 years.
- Data/sample: no original data or sample; it draws on prior sociological, historical, and feminist scholarship and case examples.
- Analysis: organizes key findings under three themes—cultural meanings of illness, illness experience, and medical knowledge—then discusses policy implications and future research directions.
Limitations
- The paper states it does not showcase criticisms of social constructionism, though it acknowledges important critiques: that it may deny the natural world, ignore whether some ideas better represent the world, and reproduce a false binary between real and socially constructed (Hacking 1999). It also notes criticisms/limitations of the disease/illness distinction (Timmermans and Haas 2008) and states its amalgam approach “minimizes important differences between various types of social constructionism.”
- Evident from the text: as a review/essay, it presents no systematic review protocol, no empirical data, and no tested policy outcomes; policy implications are illustrative and drawn from cited literature rather than evaluated here.
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Claims the paper makes
13 Sources not found · 3 Own interpretation · 3 No basis given · 2 No full text of the sources · 2 Not checked yet · 1 Partly supported · accuracy not yet measured
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Second, all illnesses are socially constructed at the experiential level, based on how individuals come to understand and live with their illness.”
- Also stated in: § Illness Experience as Socially Constructed · p. 5 · plain
“Another key insight of constructionism is that the illness experience is socially constructed.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Charmaz 1991
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Bury 1982 source
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Also stated in: § Illness Experience as Socially Constructed · p. 5 · plain
None of the sources cited for this claim could be matched to a paper in Crossref, so there is nothing to check it against.
In the paper
“Third, medical knowledge about illness and disease is not necessarily given by nature but is constructed and developed by claims-makers and interested parties.”
- Also stated in: § Medical Knowledge as Socially Constructed · p. 7 · hedged
“Eliot Freidson (1970) was probably the first medical sociologist to articulate how medical knowledge is socially constructed.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Freidson 1970
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites Foucault 1977
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Also stated in: § Medical Knowledge as Socially Constructed · p. 7 · hedged
None of the sources cited for this claim could be matched to a paper in Crossref, so there is nothing to check it against.
In the paper
“The research of medical sociologists in the subfield of science studies also reveals how medical knowledge is conditioned by the social context in which it is developed.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Joyce 2008
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites Timmermans 2007
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Not matched
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Likewise, the engines of medicalization have expanded beyond medical professionals, social movements, and organizations to biotechnology, consumers, and the insurance industry.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
In the paper
“In an earlier book, Epstein (1996) similarly underscored the politics of knowledge by demonstrating how the science regarding the cause and treatment of HIV/AIDS is best understood as an amalgam that was constructed and contested by different constituencies (e.g., scientists, doctors, drug companies, patients, and activists) rather than the outcome of 'pure' science.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Epstein 1996
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
boosteddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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- Not matched
In the paper
“Even as this new paradigm offers potential tools for addressing nagging questions about health disparities-e.g., why do black women with breast cancer have higher mortality rates than their white counterparts?-it has the consequence of reifying the categories of race and gender as biological realities.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Epstein 2007
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Not matched
In the paper
“In a recent book Epstein (2007) analyzes the emergence, beginning in the mid-1980s, of a new paradigm of biomedical research that proactively included individuals from underrepresented social groups (e.g., women and racial and ethnic minorities) in clinical studies, with an eye toward understanding the differences between groups with respect to disease processes and treatment outcomes.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Epstein 2007
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Not matched
In the paper
“Epstein explains how the knowledge it produces about race and gender are in part the outcome of social and political conflicts and negotiations, as opposed to essential truths found in nature.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Epstein 2007
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Not matched
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Over the years, sociologists have shown that women's natural reproductive functions (e.g., pregnancy, childbirth, menstruation) are routinely medicalized (Barker 1998; Riessman 1983; Riska 2003).”
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Barker 1998 source
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Riessman 1983
- Not matchedcites Riska 2003
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
boosted- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“When medical perspectives increasingly define obesity as an illness (rather than a risk factor for diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc.), policies focus on solutions such as gastric bypass surgeries, rather than examining the role of product promotion by the food industry or the availability of healthy foods in neighborhoods with high rates of obesity.”
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- It may state two separate claims as one. 7
- Probably not a substantial claim. 5
The cited sources support only part of this claim — read each source’s verdict below.
In the paper
“First, some illnesses are particularly embedded with cultural meaning-which is not directly derived from the nature of the condition-that shapes how society responds to those afflicted and influences the experience of that illness.”
- Also stated in: § Cultural Meanings of Illness · p. 3 · plain
“certain illnesses have particular social or cultural meanings attributed to them. These meanings adhere to the illness and may have independent consequences on patients and health care.”
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Sontag 1978
- Partly supportedcites Barry et al. 2009 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured
The introductory discussion of illness metaphors and the “Reasoning by Metaphor” section show how meanings attached to health conditions shape public attitudes and policy responses. The “Obesity Metaphors” section also describes how people who are overweight may be treated badly in work and social settings. The paper does not establish the broader claim that such meanings are independent of a condition’s nature or generally shape the experience of illness. Page numbers were unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.82)
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Also stated in: § Cultural Meanings of Illness · p. 3 · plain
In the paper
“A social constructionist approach to illness is rooted in the widely recognized conceptual distinction between disease (the biological condition) and illness (the social meaning of the condition) (Eisenberg 1977).”
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Eisenberg 1977 source
boosteddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
None of the sources cited for this claim could be matched to a paper in Crossref, so there is nothing to check it against.
In the paper
“Contested illnesses, including chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, and multiple chemical sensitivity are medically suspect because they are not associated with any known physical abnormality.”
- Also stated in: § Cultural Meanings of Illness · p. 4 · plain
“contested illness sufferers are burdened by the cultural meaning of a medically invisible condition in an era of high-tech biomedicine”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Barker 2005
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites Brown 2007
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites Kroll-Smith and Floyd 1997
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Also stated in: § Cultural Meanings of Illness · p. 4 · plain
None of the sources cited for this claim could be matched to a paper in Crossref, so there is nothing to check it against.
In the paper
“Because the attributes that are deemed disabilities, and the very meaning of being disabled, vary across time and space, disability cannot be reduced to a mere biological problem located in an individual's body”
- Also stated in: § Cultural Meanings of Illness · p. 4 · plain
“the body has an impairment (e.g., loss of limb) while society creates the disability”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Barnes, Mercer, and Shakespeare 1999
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites Oliver 1996
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Also stated in: § Cultural Meanings of Illness · p. 4 · plain
In the paper
“there is nothing inherent about a condition that makes it stigmatizing; rather, it is the social response to the condition and some of its manifestations, or the type of individuals who suffer from it, that make a condition stigmatized”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Conrad 1987
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
In the paper
“The emphasis is on how meanings of phenomena do not necessarily inhere in the phenomena themselves but develop through interaction in a social context.”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Berger and Luckman 1966
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
- Not matched
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“After all, any policy response to a problem is determined by how the problem is defined or framed in the first place.”
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
In the paper
“Warnings about the risks of fetal alcohol syndrome effectively blame individual women and deflect attention away from the well-established links among class, race, and birth outcomes (Armstrong 2003).”
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Armstrong 2003
boosteddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Both the boundaries of the ED diagnosis and the markets for ED drugs expanded enormously (Conrad 2007).”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Conrad 2007
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
In the paper
“When the solution is to mandate that federally funded clinical studies include individuals from underrepresented subgroups, we inadvertently cast the problem as rooted in biological differences between racial and ethnic groups and downplay the role of socially structured inequalities (Epstein 2007).”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Epstein 2007
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“For example, Prempro, a widely prescribed hormone replacement drug, is just the latest in the ongoing effort to medically 'treat' menopausal 'symptoms,' despite the fact that changes associated with menopause are a common and ordinary aspect of women's reproductive lives.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Rests on an assumption: Changes associated with menopause are a common and ordinary aspect of women's reproductive lives.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Framing anger in women as evidence of the disease PMS, to be treated with antidepressants, trivializes the impact of gender inequality on women's daily lives.”
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.
The paper relies on this without support.
Changes associated with menopause are a common and ordinary aspect of women's reproductive lives.
“despite the fact that changes associated with menopause are a common and ordinary aspect of women's reproductive lives.”
The paper relies on this without support.
There is a social predilection toward treating human problems as individual or clinical rather than addressing the underlying causes for complex social problems and human suffering.
“It seems that we have a social predilection toward treating human problems as individual or clinical—whether it be obesity, substance abuse, learning difficulties, aging, or alcoholism—rather than addressing the underlying causes for complex social problems and human suffering.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Compared to 50 years ago, physicians have experienced a relative decline in professional authority.
“Compared to 50 years ago, physicians have experienced a relative decline in professional authority.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Laypeople with illness have a greater voice, and there is greater recognition of that voice.
“Both reflecting and reinforcing this trend, laypeople with illness have a greater voice, and there is also greater recognition of that voice.”
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Gender, Illness, and Social Construction
Simoni, Z. R. (2014) · The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Health, Illness, Behavior, and Society · doi:10.1002/9781118410868.wbehibs170 · Cited by 4
Möll, G. (2021) · Kulturen der Gesellschaft · doi:10.14361/9783839460719 · Cited by 3
Linden, P., & Reibling, N. (2024) · Work Employment and Society · doi:10.1177/09500170241244688 · Cited by 3
“The underlying theory of medicalisation is a social constructionist approach, which aims to explain why phenomena are defined and treated as medical problems (Conrad, 2008; Conrad and Barker, 2010).”
Pranjol, M. Z. I., & Amir, A. (2025) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2025.1550711 · Cited by 3
Kauer, T., Franco, C. L., Munroe, D. D., Doescher, M. P., Paskett, E. D., Swenson, W. T., Tossas, K. Y., Cerhan, J. R., & Krieger, J. L. R. (2025) · JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute · doi:10.1093/jnci/djaf329 · Cited by 3
“42 To clarify, we do not suggest doing away with current geophysical-or census-based approaches.”
Watanabe, R., & Shigematsu, Y. (2025) · Japan Journal of Nursing Science · doi:10.1111/jjns.70035 · Cited by 3
“” Similarly, sociological studies by Conrad and Schneider (1980) and Conrad and Barker (2010) have revealed that illness and disability are socially and culturally constructed phenomena, emphasizing that how society accepts and responds to technology-dependent children and their families is of…”
Ammari, T. (2026) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119593 · Cited by 5
Sociological Approaches to Mental Illness
Thoits, P. A. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.010 · Cited by 3
Bhor, N., & Nadh, P. O. (2024) · International Journal for Equity in Health · doi:10.1186/s12939-024-02188-2 · Cited by 3
“In the context of NCD’s, there is a tradition of examining behaviours and perceptions through various lens such as self-perceived health [6, 7], self-construction of illness [10] social construction of illness [8, 13, 18, 34] health perceptions [5, 20, 23, 27].”
BackgroundElite class self‐interest, socioeconomic inequality and U.S. population health
Ignatow, G., & Gutin, I. (2024) · Sociology of Health & Illness · doi:10.1111/1467-9566.13813 · Cited by 3
Zou, W., Yang, X., Huang, L., & Qian, Z. (2025) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2025.2495230 · Cited by 6
“Dysmenorrhea is often dismissed as a non-pathological phenomenon, leading to its widespread neglect by both the medical community and society at large (Conrad & Barker, 2010; Hoffmann & Tarzian, 2001).”
Graf, J., Weinert, K., Abele, H., & Kranz, A. (2025) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare13131540 · Cited by 3
“People differ in terms of their health resources (related to factors such as educational status, health literacy, living and working conditions) [7,21,30–32].”
Evers, S. J. T. M., van der Brug, M., van Wesel, F., & A, L. K. M. (2016) · Children & Society · doi:10.1111/chso.12153 · Cited by 3
Ferez, S., & Péréra, É. (2018) · Staps · doi:10.3917/sta.119.0095 · Cited by 3
Culture, Diversity, and Global Health: Challenges and Opportunities
Gopalkrishnan, N. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-05325-3_5-1 · Cited by 3
What Outcomes Should the Study of Mental Health Try to Explain?
Schnittker, J. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.008 · Cited by 3
Diagnostic slippage: Medical uncertainty and engaged patienthood in the case of atypical disorders
Durán, E. (2021) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114054 · Cited by 3
“Sick but active, tired but healthy”. Narratives of body and self living with HIV
Schuft, L., Ferez, S., Bergamaschi, A., & d’Arripe-Longueville, F. (2021) · Qualitative Research in Sport Exercise and Health · doi:10.1080/2159676x.2021.1969997 · Cited by 5
“The experience of illness symptoms or health recommendations are also integral to the social construction of illness (Conrad and Barker 2010) and the self living with chronic illness (Baumgartner and David 2009; Charmaz 2002; Clarke and James 2003).”
BackgroundVoices of the Unheard: Women and Infertility in India
Kothari, A., & Sriram, S. (2022) · Human Arenas · doi:10.1007/s42087-022-00269-8 · Cited by 3
“Conrad and Barker (2010) argue about illness enactment and how individuals “own” illnesses can be extended to infertility.”
Nov‐Klaiman, T., Raz, A. E., & Hashiloni‐Dolev, Y. (2022) · Disability & Society · doi:10.1080/09687599.2022.2070059 · Cited by 3
“This difference between the general population and the Haredi minority may reflect different models of disability (conrad and Barker 2010; Retief and letšosa 2018), highlighting ‘how much of what is negative about impairment or disability is ‘intrinsic’ to the condition and would remain even in a…”
BackgroundMedicalization of Communication: An Examination of Communication Policies in American Medicine
Dorough, R. (2022) · Southern Communication Journal · doi:10.1080/1041794x.2022.2117402 · Cited by 3
Sociocultural Health Code as a Methodological Approach to Social Studies in the Field of Healthcare
Drapkina, O. M., Suvorov, V. V., Анатольевич, У. М., et al. (2023) · Herald of the Russian Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1134/s101933162301001x · Cited by 3
“In addition, medical knowledge about illnesses and diseases is not necessarily given by nature, but rather is constructed and developed by applicants and stakeholders, reflecting the sociocultural processes taking place in society [9].”
Determinantes sociales, equidad y pertinencia territorial: reflexión sobre el enfoque en salud
Herrera-Vásquez, L. C., & Núñez-Norambuena, M. E. (2024) · Revista Científica de la UCSA · doi:10.18004/ucsa/2409-8752/2024.011.02.078 · Cited by 5
Moratalla-Cebrian, M. L., Marcilla-Toribio, I., Berlanga‐Macías, C., Perez-Moreno, A., García‐Martínez, M., & Martínez-Andrés, M. (2024) · Nursing Reports · doi:10.3390/nursrep14040243 · Cited by 3
Gertz, G., Ketels, G., & Klotz, S. (2025) · Clinical Rehabilitation · doi:10.1177/02692155251325614 · Cited by 3
“34 Thus, behavior is a re fl ection of health literacy in the society but also of the individual.”
Marital Status and Mental Health
Williams, K., Frech, A., & Carlson, D. L. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.020 · Cited by 3
Wolfradt, U. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-37918-6_36 · Cited by 3
ANTHROPOLOGICAL INQUIRY OF DISEASE, ILLNESS AND SICKNESS
Yew, V. W. C., & Noor, N. A. M. (2014) · The International Islamic University Malaysia Repository (The International Islamic University Malaysia) · Cited by 3
Myths about HIV and AIDS among serodiscordant couples in Malawi
Wella, K., Webber, S., & Levy, P. (2017) · Aslib Journal of Information Management · doi:10.1108/ajim-12-2016-0202 · Cited by 3
“Conrad and Barker (2010) observe that in the first place all illnesses are socially constructed based on experiential realities for living with the illnesses. This is corroborated by Sifunda et al. (2006) who found that knowledge about HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STD) were socially constructed.”
BackgroundInfluentialLewis, J., & Thomas, J. M. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-58365-5_8 · Cited by 3
“Furthermore, the contested nature of psychiatry (Foucault 1986; Conrad and Barker 2010; Hacking 2000), the historical controversies within genetics (Kerr and Shakespeare 2002), and bad media experiences (Dreaper 2010) have added to scientific researchers’ concerns that involvement with the arts…”
BackgroundIn Hermes’ shoes: Labelling and diagnosing children as acts of translation
Mercieca, D. P., Mercieca, D., & Bugeja, S. (2018) · Theory & Psychology · doi:10.1177/0959354318789264 · Cited by 3
“The need for labelling and diagnosis is the product of social factors and is socially constructed (Conrad & Barker, 2010).”
Background“Best interest” and Pediatric End Stage Kidney Disease: The Case of Baby M
Mantulak, A. (2019) · Journal of Pediatric Nursing · doi:10.1016/j.pedn.2019.02.032 · Cited by 3
Feddersen, H., Kristiansen, T. M., Andersen, P. T., Hørslev‐Petersen, K., & Primdahl, J. (2019) · Musculoskeletal Care · doi:10.1002/msc.1435 · Cited by 3
Delibaş, K., & KANKURDAN, Ş. (2020) · Sosyoloji araştırmaları dergisi/Sosyoloji araştırmaları dergisi · doi:10.18490/sosars.818960 · Cited by 3
Méndez, N. (2021) · Social Science Quarterly · doi:10.1111/ssqu.13054 · Cited by 3
Cannabis Use and Mental Health: Paradoxes of Medicalization
Dolphin, W., & Newhart, M. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-83745-7_11 · Cited by 3
Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System
Hiday, V. A., & Ray, B. R. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.028 · Cited by 3
Mental Health in Cross-Cultural Context
Lefley, H. P. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.011 · Cited by 3
Lubi, K., Metsoja, E., Eha, K., Mets-Oja, S., & Ruuben, L. (2021) · Mäetagused · doi:10.7592/mt2021.79.vaktsiin · Cited by 3
“Analüüsis oleme tuginenud sotsiaalkonstruktivistlikele lähenemistele (Conrad & Barker 2010), mille kohaselt toimub haiguse ja tervisega seotud tähenduste konstrueerimine kultuurilisel tasandil, isiklikel kogemustel põhineval indiviiditasandil ja kolmandate osapooltega seotud tasandil.”
BackgroundInfluentialPeltier, C. (2015) · Lu Zone Ul (Laurentian University) · Cited by 3
Desmarais, S. L. (2016) · University of the Arts London Research Online (University of the Arts London) · Cited by 3
Foster, P. M. (2020) · Tuwhera (Auckland University of Technology) · Cited by 3
Looy, K. V., & de Velde, S. M. V. (2022) · Archives of Public Health · doi:10.1186/s13690-022-00943-x · Cited by 2
“Consequently, this has led to very different outcomes for the numerous individuals that have been treated with either (or both) disorders and how society perceives these disorders and treatment methods [5, 17, 18].”
BackgroundNavigating the Limits of Diagnosis: Young Adults' Experiences of Chronic Living
Harper, I., Kenny, K., & Broom, A. (2024) · Sociology of Health and Illness · doi:10.1111/1467-9566.13861 · Cited by 3
“…that chronic illnesses can cause in individual lives has established a conceptually rich foundation for research that centres the lived experience of those at the heart of unstable and liminal medical, political and social spheres (Bury 1982; Charmaz 1983; Conrad and Barker 2010; Frank 1995).”
Chan, F. K. I., Moraga, M.-T., Habib, B., Girard, N., Boulet, J. R., & Tamblyn, R. M. (2024) · Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety · doi:10.1002/pds.70068 · Cited by 2
Panisch, L. S., Jansen, S. M., Abudushalamu, F., Petersen, T. R., & Meriwether, K. V. (2025) · The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research · doi:10.1007/s11414-024-09926-y · Cited by 2
“37,38 As is standard in reflexive TA, 36,39 the coding process was primarily conducted by the first author, while the last author served as a content expert.”
Medicinal Plants Used to Treat Evil Eye Illness in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review
Tadesse, D., Kassa, G. M., & Lemlemu, M. (2025) · The Scientific World JOURNAL · doi:10.1155/tswj/5498700 · Cited by 2
“In indigenous societies, the diagnosis and interpretation of a health illness mainly relies on supernatural explanations of causative factors, which are strongly attributed to the relationship between the su ff erer and his/her surroundings [1, 2].”
Hartvedt, M. G., Normann, B., Sivertsen, M., & Arntzen, E. C. (2025) · Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences · doi:10.3389/fresc.2025.1677114 · Cited by 3
Isah, A., Ugochukwu, E. J., Aguiyi-Ikeanyi, C., & Onwujekwe, O. E. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1667712 · Cited by 2
Acquiring knowledge prior to diagnosis: A grounded theory of patients’ experiences
Roddis, J. K., Holloway, I., Bond, C., & Galvin, K. (2019) · Patient Experience Journal · doi:10.35680/2372-0247.1317 · Cited by 2
On the Risks of Medicalization of Adolescents Self-Injuring Acts
Ekman, I., & Jacobsson, L. (2021) · Open Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.4236/ojpsych.2021.111004 · Cited by 2
“This must not be a problem in itself; rather it is the social response that decides whether or not medicalization is positive or negative [19].”
BackgroundEpilogue: The Three Solitudes of the Sociology of Mental Health
Avison, W. R. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.034 · Cited by 2
Anthropological Narratives of Nodding Disease among the Acholi of Northern Uganda
Isiko, A. P., & Acayo, K. O. (2021) · International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding · doi:10.18415/ijmmu.v8i4.2554 · Cited by 2
Successful Psychological Strategies of Experienced Chronic Fatigue Patients: A Qualitative Study
Hall, K., Amos, C., Jaye, C., & Young, J. E. (2021) · Journal of Patient Experience · doi:10.1177/23743735211034962 · Cited by 2
“Medically unexplained symptoms are often linked to “contested diagnoses” (11), involving uncertain etiology, limited medical research, and limited treatment options, including chronic fatigue, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and pseudo-seizures (12).”
BackgroundMöll, G. (2021) · transcript Verlag eBooks · doi:10.1515/9783839460719 · Cited by 2
“A Home in My Body”: Migration, Infection, and Privilege in Porochista Khakpour’sSick
Green, C. R. (2021) · a/b Auto/Biography Studies · doi:10.1080/08989575.2021.2045740 · Cited by 2
Misophonia matters: A case study of the role of brain imaging in debates over new diagnoses
Perez, V. W., & Friedman, A. (2023) · Sociology of Health & Illness · doi:10.1111/1467-9566.13679 · Cited by 2
Barber, C., van der Vleuten, C. P. M., & Chahine, S. (2023) · Advances in Health Sciences Education · doi:10.1007/s10459-023-10248-5 · Cited by 2
“The concept of health is both influenced and produced by biological and social factors, culture referents, as well as social interactions and networks (WHO, 1986; Olafsdottir, 2013; Conrad & Baker, 2010).”
BackgroundMendoza-Gordillo, M. J., Bates, B. R., & Vivat, B. (2023) · Frontiers in Communication · doi:10.3389/fcomm.2023.1153679 · Cited by 2
“…lactation (or inability to lactate) and bodily experiences of breastfeeding; on the contrary, we seek to explore the way in which people make sense of these states and experiences, and construct and interpret them through social interaction (Babrow and Mattson, 2002, 2011; Conrad and Barker, 2010).”
Spekker, O., Tihanyi, B., Kis, L., Madai, Á., Pálfi, G., Csuvár-Andrási, R., Wicker, E., Szalontai, C., Samu, L., Koncz, I., et al. (2023) · Tuberculosis · doi:10.1016/j.tube.2023.102393 · Cited by 5
Laursen, C. B., Andersen, R. S., & Tørring, M. L. (2023) · Medical Anthropology · doi:10.1080/01459740.2023.2248354 · Cited by 2
“Medical sociologists use the term “contested illness” to classify IBS alongside, for example, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia (Conrad and Barker 2010; White Researching IBS in a Danish welfare context We draw on fieldwork conducted by Camilla Laursen (first author) at two Danish…”
BackgroundBeliefs about mental health in incarcerated males: a qualitative interview study
Solbakken, L. E., Bergvik, S., & Wynn, R. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1242756 · Cited by 5
“Individual beliefs about health, coping and treatment are shaped by context and personal life experiences (20, 39).”
BackgroundMarchesi, A., & Luigi, N. D. (2023) · Contemporary Italian Politics · doi:10.1080/23248823.2023.2278349 · Cited by 2
“From the perspective of the sociology of health and illnesses, specific assessments generate specific responses, which also impact social compliance and control, by minimizing some aspects and accentuating others (Conrad and Barker 2010).”
Cultural Influences on Medical Knowledge
Hughes, D. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-017-8706-2_73-3 · Cited by 2
Biomedical model, reductionism and their consequences for body perception
Wieczorkowska, M. (2024) · Acta Universitatis Lodziensis Folia Sociologica · doi:10.18778/0208-600x.90.02 · Cited by 2
Political Context and State-Level Health Behavior Disparities
VanHeuvelen, J. S., Wang, Y., & VanHeuvelen, T. (2024) · Socius Sociological Research for a Dynamic World · doi:10.1177/23780231241285061 · Cited by 2
“Insofar as policy context is one of the core structural influences of individual behavior (Boyer and Lutfey 2010; Conrad and Barker 2010; Mechanic and McAlpine 2010), state policy should be a structural source of health behaviors.”
Hickman, J.-H., Swartz, A., Sicwebu, N., Stek, C. J., Masimini, N., & Nöstlinger, C. (2024) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0275554 · Cited by 3
“Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) research often explores patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) that can offer valuable insight and information on therapeutic interventions, health strategies and health policy development [3–5].”
BackgroundMultiple Vulnerabilitäten: Zur Wissenspolitik der Schulschließungen während der COVID-19-Pandemie
Kaldewey, D., Berger, P., Weigel, L., et al. (2025) · Zeitschrift für Soziologie · doi:10.1515/zfsoz-2025-2008 · Cited by 2
Smith, R., Perkins, E., Pinchbeck, G. L., et al. (2025) · Equine Veterinary Journal · doi:10.1111/evj.14562 · Cited by 2
“35 Thus, acting as a barrier to pain management.”
Medicalization and illness identity
Wehling, P., Viehöver, W., & Gündel, H. (2012) · Deutsches Ärzteblatt international · doi:10.3238/arztebl.2012.0339b · Cited by 2
Disease Stigma in the Archaeological Record: A Review of Current Research
Scott, M. (2015) · USURJ University of Saskatchewan Undergraduate Research Journal · doi:10.32396/usurj.v2i1.132 · Cited by 2
Health consumer participation, medical dominance and digital ethics in Indonesia: the Prita Case
Mulyana, D., & Verity, F. (2015) · Health Sociology Review · doi:10.1080/14461242.2015.1116021 · Cited by 2
“…a social construction approach can be used in overly simplistic and relativist ways (e.g. Hacking, 1999), we contend this approach is of value as an analytical tool in the information age, when a fast changing intersubjective world is created and recreated in no time at all (Conrad & Barker, 2010).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialHunter, S. C. (2016) · Lincoln (University of Nebraska) · Cited by 2
The stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS in the Czech Republic - from their own perspective
Bjelončíková, M., & Gojová, A. (2017) · Kontakt · doi:10.1016/j.kontakt.2017.06.003 · Cited by 2
“Tyto významy ovlivňují sociální dopady na pacienta a zdravotnickou péči a další pomáhající profese [42].”
Is there a pathological way of ageing?
Cloos, P. (2017) · Medicine Anthropology Theory · doi:10.17157/mat.4.2.330 · Cited by 2
L'ambiguità dei diritti costituzionali. Il caso della judicialização da saúde in Brasile
Corsi, G., & Martini, S. R. (2018) · SOCIOLOGIA DEL DIRITTO · doi:10.3280/sd2018-003002 · Cited by 2
YouTube Vlogs as Illness Narratives
Fullenkamp, N. K. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190842475.013.6 · Cited by 2
Mauldin, L. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190887599.003.0005 · Cited by 3
Vpliv porodnih praks na porodno izkušnjo v institucionalni oskrbi
Prosen, M. (2019) · Slovenian Nursing Review · doi:10.14528/snr.2019.53.4.2956 · Cited by 2
Metadata
- Authors
- Conrad, P., & Barker, K. K.
- Affiliations
- Brandeis University (US)
- Oregon State University (US)
- ORCID
- Barker, Kristin K.
- Venue
- Journal of Health and Social Behavior
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2010-03
- Volume
- 51
- Issue
- 1_suppl
- Pages
- S67-S79
- ISSN
- 0022-1465 (ISSN-L)
- 2150-6000
- OpenAlex
- W2105392510
- Semantic Scholar
- daba8e41984f917378dc8db2be9f01f2883d3625
- Cited by
- 888
- References
- 82
- Citations by year
- 2026: 38 · 2025: 66 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 65 · 2022: 77 · 2021: 81 · 2020: 54 · 2019: 79 · 2018: 57 · 2017: 95 · 2016: 52 · 2015: 60 · 2014: 38 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 20
- FWCI
- 13.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Health and Social Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Portal (Queen's University Belfast) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Medicine, History, and Philosophy
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health, Medicine and Society
- Social Sciences › Education › Qualitative research in health
- Keywords
- social construction of illness, medical sociology, illness experience, claims-making, health policy, policy-relevant research
- MeSH terms
- Culture, Disease, Health Policy, Health Services Research, Humans, Public Opinion, Social Problems, Sociology, Medical, Knowledge
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