Anomy and Identity management

BROWNER, CAROLE, PRELORAN, MABEL Y BALZANO, SILVIA

Realidad. Revista del Cono Sur de Psicología Social y Política

Universidad Argentina John F. Kennedy

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2008 vol. 6

1666-7085

Understanding the means through which environments shape individuals and vice versa has bedeviled social scientists since the discipline began.  This in part has been because finding techniques for doing so has not been simple.  Only recently have researchers recognized that life events such as major or even minor illness can provide powerful insight into these issues.  For instance, Burry’s (1982) notion of “biographic disruption” has proved useful in conceptualizing some of the means through which social roles and associated identities are transformed in the face of serious or devastating illness. Scholars such as Becker (1997), Hunt (2000) and Frank et al. (in press) have analyzed patient narratives of threats to health and well being to cast light on the myriad ways that medical experiences can shape individual identities.