Knowra Medicalization Medicalization Medicalization is the process by which conditions or behaviors become defined and treated as medical problems, often bringing them under medical authority.
Diagnosis : The identification of a disease or condition from signs, symptoms, and other evidence. Diagnostic categories give medicalized experiences names and criteria.
Medical sociology : The study of health, illness, healthcare, and medicine as social phenomena. Medicalization became a central question within this field.
Homosexuality and psychiatry : The history of psychiatric classification and treatment of homosexuality. Its removal from the DSM illustrates how a behavior can lose medical status.
Dem medicalization : The process by which a condition or behavior loses its status as a medical problem. It is the reverse movement, exemplified by homosexuality's removal from psychiatric diagnosis.
Disease mongering : The promotion of ordinary experiences or mild problems as diseases requiring medical attention. It describes a disputed route by which medical categories and treatment markets can expand.
Talcott Parsons : An American sociologist whose work developed structural functionalism and the concept of the sick role. His account of illness as a socially regulated role shaped later debates about medical authority.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder : A neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Debates over diagnosis and treatment often center on medicalization of childhood behavior.
Social construction of illness : The formation of illness categories through social meanings, institutions, and historical conditions. It helps explain how medical definitions reflect more than biological findings.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders : The American Psychiatric Association's classification and diagnostic manual for mental disorders. Its revisions make visible how psychiatric boundaries can change over time.
Erving Goffman : A Canadian-American sociologist known for studying social interaction, stigma, and institutions. His analysis of stigma helps explain the social effects of medical labels.
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