Sociology of Health: Deviance and Illness

Sociology of Health

Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.............................................................................................................................................3
Sociological theories related to Deviance................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Health can be defined as the state of physical, mental and social well-being or simply the
absence of disease. People who are healthy live longer and are as compared more productive.
The overall health of a nation can be influenced by a variety of factors (Allen and et. al., 2016).
On the other hand, illness is a condition that is abnormal and can impact the overall health in an
adverse manner. Deviance, in sociology, describes an action or behavior that breaks different
social norms and can either be criminal or non-criminal. But in sociology, it is referred to as
criminal and is concerned with violation of social norms. “Talcott Parsons”, the founding father
of deviance, was an American sociologist who was best known for structural functionalism and
his social action theory. He is considered as one of the most important figures in sociology. The
title of the report is “Illness can be understood as a form of deviance”. It explains the
sociological theories that are related to deviance and the different types of deviances.
MAIN BODY
Sociological theories related to Deviance
Deviance can be referred to as the violation of laws and social norms and there are
various social theories of deviance. Some of them are explained below –
Social Strain Typology – This is the first theory of deviance that was developed by
Robert K. Merton. The theory states that the society puts pressure on individuals in order to
achieve goals that are socially accepted, although they lack means to do so. The theory is based
on two criteria, a person’s adherence to different cultural goals and their belief as to how to attain
their goals. Merton proposed that there are five types of deviance that are based on these two
criteria- conformity, innovation, retreatism, ritualism and rebellion (Blue and et. al., 2016). The
social strain typology suggests that the people can turn to deviance while chasing goals and
social values that are widely accepted. Therefore, it can be said that deviance can be the result of
accepting one norm, but breaking the other while chasing the first one.
Structural Functionalism – According to this theory, untypical behavior plays a
constructive and active role in the society by helping different populations to hold together
within a particular society (White, 2016). Deviance is something that helps in differentiating
between a behavior that is acceptable and unacceptable. This is an important theory which states