Skip to content

Ask an Academic

  • Home
  • Ask a Question
  • Contact Us
Crowd of people

Evaluate sociological and biological constructs of health

September 25, 2019 by AskanAcademic.com

Evaluation of sociological and biological constructs of health

Question

evaluate sociological and biological construct of health in 200/300 words

Answer

Health, traditionally, has been represented and socially ‘constructed’ as the absence of illness (Almedom & Glandon, 2007; Burr, 2015). However, this view has been challenged for being too simplistic; as the World Health Organisation (2014: 1) suggests, health is more complex, being a ‘state of complete physical, mental and emotional well-being’. Two dominant models – the medical and social models – which are influenced by biological and sociological perspectives have come to influence how individuals and society construct their experiences of health and illness (Nettleton, 2006). The traditional biomedical model represents ill-health as caused by individual deficits, resulting from impairment, damage and degradation to the human body (Ogden, 2012). In contrast, sociological explanations adopt a social model of health (Oliver, 2013), which challenges such deterministic attributions of illness (Shakespeare, 2006).
The social model suggests that the biomedical model fails to acknowledge the impact of cultural and social factors on health, which leads individuals experiencing health inequalities, stigma and social exclusion, which all impede well-being (Shakespeare, 2006). However, both theoretical viewpoints are similarly challenged, for both consider only one aspect as the sole cause of illness – either internal or external factors (Oliver, 2009). Thus, biological and sociological models fail to acknowledge how people come to experience health in relation to both individual and social factors (Burr, 2015). Consequently, this led to the development of a more holistic model of health – the biopsychosocial model of health (Sarafino & Smith, 2014). This model addresses the weaknesses of biological and sociological constructs of health, to represent health as how people psychologically construct individual understandings of health in relation to both biological and social forces (Sarafino and Smith, 2014).

References

Almedom, A.M. & Glandon, D., (2007). Resilience is not the absence of PTSD any more than health is the absence of disease. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 12(2), 127-143.

Burr, V., (2015). Social constructionism. London: Routledge.

Nettleton, S., (2006). The sociology of health and illness. Bristol: Polity.

Ogden, J., (2012). Health psychology. London: McGraw-Hill Education (UK).

Oliver, M., (2013). The social model of disability: Thirty years on. Disability & Society, 28(7), 1024-1026.

Sarafino, E.P. & Smith, T.W., (2014). Health psychology: Biopsychosocial interactions. London: John Wiley & Sons.

Shakespeare, T. (2006). The social model of disability in L. Davis, The Disability Studies Reader, London: Routledge. (pp.197-204).

World Health Organisation (2014) Mental Health: A state of well-being. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/mental_health/en/ (Accessed 14th October, 2016).

Post navigation

Previous Post:

The Columbian Exchange – Positive and Negative Effects

Next Post:

Ikea Business Strategy

Search Q&As

Categories

  • Art Media and Literature (74)
  • Business and Management (256)
  • Computing and ICT (14)
  • Construction and Engineering (35)
  • Education (90)
  • Environmental Sciences (2)
  • Finance and Economics (91)
  • Health (64)
  • Languages (12)
  • Law (88)
  • Mathematics and Statistics (2)
  • Medical Sciences (19)
  • Politics and International Relations (83)
  • Research Methodology (1)
  • Science (49)
  • Social Sciences (101)

Archives

Who We Are

Askanacademic.com is owned and operated by All Answers Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration No: 4964706. VAT Registration No: 842417633. Data Controller No: Z1821391.

Registered office:
Venture House
Cross Street
Arnold
Nottingham
NG5 7PJ

Main Navigation

  • Home
  • Ask a Question
  • Contact Us

Legals

  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy

Popular Categories

  • Business and Management
  • Law
  • Finance and Economics
  • Health
An an Academic Logo
© 2023 Ask an Academic | WordPress Theme by Superb Themes
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Reject
Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT