Answer to Question #253079 in Sociology for Karen

Question

1. Define the following terms: Health; illness; Diseases
2. Briefly discuss the conflict, functionalist and symbolic interactionist theoretical approaches to health and illness

Answer 1

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.

illness is a condition of being unhealthy in your body or mind or a specific condition that prevents your body or mind from working normally such as a sickness or disease.

A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not due to any immediate external injury.

2] In the functionalist model, Parsons argued that illness is a form of deviance that disturbs the social function of a society. Functionalists argue that a sick individual is not a productive member of society; therefore this deviance needs to be policed. This is the role of the medical profession.

According to  functionalist perspective, health and illness are both socially constructed. As we discussed in the beginning of the chapter, interactionist focus on the specific meanings and causes people attribute to illness.

 The functionalist perspective looks at how health and illness fit into a fully functioning society while the conflict perspective is concerned with how health and illness fit into the oppositional forces in society. The interactionist perspective is concerned with how social interactions construct ideas of health and illness.