Do Curfews Keep Teenagers Out of Trouble - 1421 Words

Do Curfews Keep Teens Out of Trouble Bryan Win Lee Liang Jun Yong Jie Peng, Calvin HELP University Curfews Keep Teens Out of Trouble Do curfews keep teenagers out of trouble? This topic has always been on the cover page of todays newspaper headlines and a hot topic that has been discussed by every family. What are curfews like? A curfew is a time frame given by an authority like a parent or the government to teenagers below 18 to be home before a certain period of time. So, ask yourself, do you think that by implementing curfews into a teenager’s life, he or she would keep out of trouble. Our group has discussed and came to an agreement that curfews really do help teenagers keep out of trouble. Firstly, curfews help teenagers to stay†¦show more content†¦One other reason why curfews keep teens out of trouble is that curfews set by parents are a way of showing that the parents care about the teen. (Boekestein, 2010) suggests that teens actually want to spend time with their parents but do not know how to. A curfew is the brainchild of parents all over the world to m ake sure that their teen is safe and also to be able to spend quality time with them while they still can. Without the curfew, teens would spend all their time with their friends but miss out on the most important people of all, which are their parents. Although it might not seem that curfews are a way to spend time with the teen, it surely is. According to (Boekestein, 2010), a teen said what all teens were trying to say, which is they don’t care about other things in life, they love their parents and would like to spend more time with them than they normally do. A teen also said that he only talks to his parents in the car or during dinner as their hectic schedule demands the parents to be on their toes all the time. As (Boss, 2012) suggests, teens should have effective communication skills to make sure that what they want and what their parents think they want are the same. This could lead to extensions of curfews or even better understanding of each other. It also helps i n the long run as it improves the teen-parent relationship. GoodShow MoreRelatedEssay on Crime and Parents1345 Words   |  6 Pages Do curfews keep teens out of trouble? Even though curfews may keep the children safe, they do not keep them out of trouble because there is no solid evidence that youth curfews lower the rate of juvenile crime and teens are going to do what they want to do. Nationwide more than 80 percent of juvenile offenses take place between nine in the morning and ten at night, outside most curfews. The problem with curfews is they do not work and people should stop pretending like they do. If parents thinkRead MoreDo Curfews Keep Teens Out of Trouble? Essay1085 Words   |  5 PagesMany teenagers have a set time they have to be home by their parents. Usually teenagers must be home from dates and nights out with friends by anywhere from 10 o’clock at night to 2 o’clock in the morning. Each parent has extremely different curfews set for their children, based on the individual level of responsibility and trust levels. Some local government decides to set their own curfews, to keep teens off the streets at night and out o f trouble. Many people argue whether this actually solvesRead MoreDo Curfews Effect Teens?951 Words   |  4 PagesApril 28, 2015 Do Curfews Effect Teens? A lot of teenagers argue that obeying curfews really affects them because they get in troubles. Curfews do not guarantee that teenagers will fully stay out of trouble. Teen curfews do not reduce or take away from juvenile crime (â€Å"Teen Curfews Should Not Be Supported â€Å"). Some teens feel that when a parent sets a curfew, they don’t fully trust their kids all the way. Whether teenagers have a curfew or not, they can get in just as much trouble in the day timeRead MoreEssay on Teenage Curfew Leads to Trouble Not Safety1600 Words   |  7 PagesThey are out there causing trouble, drinking, smoking, and having sex. The teenagers: feared by parents all around the world. That is not the reality; the majority of teenagers will not be out looking for trouble. On a typical Friday night teenagers will be hanging out with their friends, catching up with everything that has gone on during the week. Why do parents fear for their teenager’s lives? So often we hear about vi olent crimes and things that go bump in the night, but do we think that theRead MoreShould Curfews Be Implemented?786 Words   |  3 Pages A curfew is a rule set by parents or legal guardians for children to prevent them from being in specific places in specific times. Approximately 500 cities in the US have laws regarding curfews that forbid teens from being on the streets on curfew hours that are under 18 years of age (Favro, 2009). Many parents and teenagers are facing countless problems regarding curfews which has grown into being the main problem in parenting children. Some people claim that curfews are the best way to parentRead MoreTeen Curfew Persuasive Speech840 Words   |  4 Pagesa right that everybody has, a privilege thats been fought for. Its a right everybody has in this country and it doesnt stop at age. It follows for every man, woman, teenager and child and doesnt deserve to be taken away. Curfews , they strangle teenagers rights to live , learn and experie nce life for themselves. If this curfew is set, it could limit their time in school, jobs, extracurricular activities and may even alter their life with family and the time with them, may lead them to fail theirRead MoreCurfew Is Beneficial to Teenagers1234 Words   |  5 PagesCurfew is a set time which teenagers will have to schedule their activities around. Generally, this curfew doesn’t change and helps your teen to understand boundaries. It is a wonderful idea for teens to have curfews because it teaches them to be responsible and also considerate of other people around them. As teenagers, it is natural for adolescents to feel like their freedoms are being taken away and that their parents don’t know what is best. However, curfew is put in place for the direct oppositeRead MoreFamily Curfews: Can Not Keep Teens Out of Trouble1694 Words   |  7 Pagesyou were a teenager, you sought for independence and tried to decide by yourself, but when you become a parent, c an you still remember to let your children be free and have faith in them? Most parents will forget the feeling they experienced when they were teenagers and forgot to make the things right when they become moms or dads. They set a lot of rules at home for their kids and sometimes even strict family curfews. But do they work? Can they really keep teens out of trouble, or do they make itRead MoreWhy Should Curfew Start At A Specific Time?960 Words   |  4 PagesHawai’i’s Law of Curfew Most adults and parents foresee curfew as a discipline to teenagers, but from an adolescent s’ perspective, they take it as a threat to their social life. In Hawai’i, the law clearly states that children who are under the age of sixteen and have no adult supervision, shall not be out between the hours of ten p.m. and four a.m. In today’s society, there are a variety of activities and events that occur pass curfew for teens where friends can gallivant and socialize, watchRead MoreDisadvantages of Teenage Curfews1138 Words   |  5 Pagescreate curfews for their children while others allow their children to create their own curfews. Numerous people argue that setting curfews for teenagers help them refrain from taking part in mischief and help them to develop into superior adults. The remaining group of people state that curfews would make teenagers rebel. Teenage curfews produce many different positive and negative views in parents and teenagers. Different op inions on curfews are expressed through parents, teenagers, and mayors;

The Things they Carried by Tim OBrien - 529 Words

In the story The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien didn’t mention anything about traditional war heroes. I think this was a great idea, because there are no traditional war heroes. A traditional war hero is someone who is fearless and someone who can’t be harmed mentally or emotionally. But in The Things They Carried the soldiers out on the front lines were emotionally and physically scarred. Tim O’Brien didn’t write about traditional war heroes, O’Brien wrote about normal people, people with different views on the Vietnam war, and how the war affected these people. To start off, Tim O’Brien wrote about normal people being chosen for the war. They carried things that meant a lot to them. â€Å"First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from a girl named Martha, a junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey†(1). This shows that the first person introduced had left behind a pretty good life before going into war. Some people c arried comic books, or items given to them by their father, â€Å"Rat Kiley carried comic books. Kiowa, a devout baptist, carried an illustrated New Testament that had been presented to him by his father, who taught Sunday school in Oklahoma City†(3). This is showing that the soldiers have items that are important to them and feel the items bring good luck. â€Å"Henry Dobbins carried his girlfriend’s pantyhose wrapped around his neck as a comforter†(9). Dobbins also uses the pantyhose as a good luck charm. But people have different views on the items they carry,Show MoreRelatedThe Things They Carried by Tim Obrien1426 Words   |  6 PagesThe War at Home The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, transports the reader into the minds of veterans of the Vietnam conflict. The Vietnam War dramatically changed Tim O’Brien and his comrades, making their return home a turbulent and difficult transition. The study, titled, The War at Home: Effects of Vietnam-Era Military Service on Post-War Household Stability, uses the draft lottery as a â€Å"natural experiment† on the general male population. The purpose of the NBER (National Bureau of EconomicRead MoreThe Things They Carried by Tim O’brien1610 Words   |  7 PagesThe Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien Plot: 1. RISING ACTION †¢ In the summer of 1968, Tim O’Brien receives a draft notice. Despite a desire to follow his convictions and flee to Canada, he feels he would be embarrassed to refuse to fulfill his patriotic duty and so concedes to fight in Vietnam. CLIMAX †¢ During their tour of duty, the men of the Alpha Company must cope with the loss of their own men and the guilt that comes from killing and watching others die. FALLING ACTION †¢ After he returnsRead MoreThe Things They Carried by Tim OBrien1156 Words   |  5 PagesIn Tim O’Brien’s novel, â€Å"The Things They Carried,† imagination is seen to be both beneficial and harmful. This novel consists of a story truth and a real truth. Tim O’Brien writes the book about the Vietnam War based primarily on his memory of the war. He does not remember every detail of the war, thus he makes up some false details to make the story seem more interesting. He does not only describe his own experiences, but also describe the experiences of other characters. He wants the readers toRead MoreThe Things They Carried by Tim OBrien1154 Words   |  5 PagesThe novel The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien begins by Mr. OBrien describing his dramatical events that happened during the middle of his Vietnam experience while he was fighting in the war. Mr. OBrien received his draft notice in the month of June in the year of 1968. When he received this notice Mr. OBrien had feelings of confusion, and that drove him to go north to the Canadian border, and it had him contemplating if he wanted to cross it or not because he does not want to be forced toRead MoreThe Things They Carried by Tim OBrien793 Words   |  3 PagesIn the novel, The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien there is an ambiguity assigned to the life of a soldier in the Vietnam war, an ambiguity that represents no clear moral victor, no clear heroes, and seemingly no end. In the movie, Platoon, written and directed by Oliver Stone, the same ambiguity is depicted, with no clear moral direction, no clear heroes, and no clear resolution. In the short story, â€Å"How to Tell a True War Story,† O’Brien talks in great detail about how a true war story, andRead MoreThe Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien550 Words   |  2 Pagespersonnel documents are in order. These are just a few items that need to be checked off of a to-do list, or inventory if you will. In â€Å"The Things They Carried† by Tim O’Brien, the main character, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, runs through a series of events that he had his squad carried, both on their person and in their minds. â€Å"The Things They Carried† is about Cross and the soldiers under him and their activities in Vietnam during the war. The story begins with Cross introducing the objectRead More The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien580 Words   |  2 Pagesbook, The Things They Carried, author Tim O’Brien tells the captivating story of soldiers and everything they had to go through during the Vietnam War. He tells of the many things that change a person during a war and what helped many to get through it. One of the main things that helped them to get through was women. While women did not play a huge role in this book, they did play a very important role. Women were the†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Martha was the lady that Lieutenant Jimmy Cross loved. He carried letters andRead MoreOverview: The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien1510 Words   |  7 Pages The Things They Carried is a novel written by Vietnam Veteran Tim O’Brien. The Vietnam War took place between 1955 and 1975. Most of the soldiers fighting were young teenage men around the age of eighteen and nineteen years old. Like O’Brien many of these young men were pulled away from their families and life to fight a war they didn’t approve of or even know about. This had a strong affect on most of these men and O’Brien uses different ways to show how the Vietnam War affected them both physicallyRead MoreThe Things They Carried by Tim OBrien580 Words   |  2 Pagesdaydreaming and felt the pain of Lavenders death. He came to realize he was to blame for the death of Ted Lavender. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’ mind was mixed with the emotions of both Martha and the death of Ted Lavender. While Lavenders body was being carried to the chopper, all Lieutenant Cross could think about was Martha. He was thinking about how he loved her more than anything, even more than his men. He believed Ted Lavender was dead because he loved Martha so much and could not stop thinking aboutRead MoreThe Things They Carried’ by Tim O’Brien Essay1233 Words   |  5 Pages‘The Things They Carried’ by Tim O’Brien provides a insider’s view of war and its distractions, both externally in dealing with combat and internally dealing with the reality of war and its effect on each solder. The story, while set in Vietnam, is as relevant today with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as it was in the 1960’s and 1970’s in Southeast Asia. With over one million soldiers having completed anywhere from one to three tours in combat in the last 10 years, the real conflict might

Persuasive Essay On Sex Trafficking - 908 Words

Sex Trafficking A woman and her child decided to go out for a small date. She is shopping around and all of the sudden she feels herself being pulled away with her daughter. Her and her child are in a dark van not knowing where she is going. When she arrives at the location you are forced to do unimaginable things, the child included. Now this may not be a reality for you, however this has been for over 20.9 million people. That is people 800,000 a year (Do something Para 5).Young girls are especially targets right now. Not many people are aware of this horrible business but today I plan to make you aware of the horrors of sex trafficking. Sex trafficking needs to be stopped because it has a negative effect on people in the society.†¦show more content†¦Sex Trafficking has been a key component in â€Å" degradation of human and womens rights† because they believe that these people are only good for sex (Deshpande Para 1). Often victims who come back, if they ever can, have a hard t ime adjusting back to normal life. These girls have trust issues towards men, and sometimes even women. They also could have numerous health problems ranging from STD’s to unplanned pregnancy or even worse â€Å" broken bones, concussions, bruises and burns† can all be found on these victims of sexual assault. These girls could also have mental issues, such as anxiety toward older men and women, fear of going outside ever again and social issues. The saddest thing about this is not only are these victims going through a horrible amount of sexual abuse, they also have been ripped away from what they know and may love. Some people believe that women and some men are just objects and they are the ones that are often pimps in the sex trafficking, but this is a completely skewed way of thinking of people. Lastly, and this is an obvious one, it is illegal. This way of work is illegal in so many ways. There are many ways that sex trafficking is illegal but looking at it mo re in depth â€Å"its correlative elements ‘such as’ kidnapping, rape, prostitution and physical abuse† (Soroptimist, 6) are all extremely illegal and if convicted of these crimes you could spend as little as 20 years in jail.Show MoreRelatedPersuasive Essay On Sex Trafficking1094 Words   |  5 PagesSex trafficking is becoming more and more of a problem as time moves on. Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harbouring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion [Internet Safety 101]. Sex trafficking is increasing due to the evolution of modern day social services and sources. From safety sources, it is the 2nd fastest growing criminal industry [Internet Safety 101]. More andRead MoreThe Criminalization Of Prostitution Does More Harm Than Good When Often Women1275 Words   |  6 Pagesand regulate prostitution instead. I thought overall my essay turned out pretty good; prostitution was an interesting topic to research and write about. I think my essay could have been a bit better because I was a bit pressed for time these past few weeks with finals, and I didn’t get the chance to have another person read the final product. I think that if I were to revise it again, I would have another person take a look at the final essay and give me some feedback about the strength of my overallRead MoreMary Wollstonecraft vs. Jean Jaques Rousseau Essay1044 Words   |  5 PagesAllison Link Global History 2 Honors – McIvor Enlightenment Essay 10/1/12 The late 18th century can be known as the historical period of the Enlightenment. During this time, society was undergoing drastic changes that would impact people even today. These changes were known as â€Å"reforms,† and played a big role in politics and ruling during this time period. One of the bigger reforms of this time was that which would grant women a higher education and place them in a position closer to theirRead MoreShould Prostitution Be Legalized?2016 Words   |  9 PagesA persuasive essay on if prostitution should be criminalized or decriminalized. The involvement of Prostitution comes from engaging enrolling in sexual activities with a another person for payment. The world is a dangerous place, sex work is a dangerous profession and people today have a right to be safe from harm and threats. Thousands of women in the present day are involved in prostitution and abuse is an everyday terror for them; about 82% of reported people say that they have been physicallyRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesPHILADELPHIA Temple University Press 1601 North Broad Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122 www.temple.edu/tempress Copyright  © 2010 by Temple University All rights reserved Published 2010 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Essays on twentieth century history / edited by Michael Peter Adas for the American Historical Association. p. cm.—(Critical perspectives on the past) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-4399-0269-1 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-1-4399-0270-7

Sociological Perspectives on Health and Illness free essay sample

How can we define health? Imagine a continuum with health on one end and death on the other. In the preamble to its 1946 constitution, the World Health Organization defined health as a â€Å"state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity† (Leavell and Clark 1965:14). In this definition, the â€Å"healthy† end of the continuum represents an ideal rather than a precise condition. Along the continuum, people define themselves as healthy or sick on the basis of criteria established by themselves and relatives, friends, co-workers, and medical practitioners. Because health is relative, then, we can view it in a social context and consider how it varies in different situations or cultures. Why is it that you may consider yourself sick or well when others do not agree? Who controls definitions of health and illness in our society, and for what ends? What are the consequences of viewing yourself (or of being viewed) as ill or disabled? By drawing on four sociological perspectives—functionalism, conflict theory, interactionism, and labeling theory—we can gain greater insight into the social context that shapes definitions of health and the treatment of illness. Functionalist Approach Illness entails breaks in our social interactions, both at work and at home. From a functionalist perspective, being sick must therefore be controlled, so that not too many people are released from their societal responsibilities at any one time. Functionalists contend that an overly broad definition of illness would disrupt the workings of a society. In U. S. society, people who are sick are supposed to stay home and†¦ Sickness requires that one take on a social role, if only temporarily. The sick role refers to societal expectations about the attitudes and behavior of a person viewed as being ill. Sociologist Talcott Parsons (1951, 1975), well known for his contributions to functionalist theory, outlined the behavior required of people who are considered sick. They are exempted from their normal, day-to-day responsibilities and generally do not suffer blame for their condition. Yet they are obligated to try to get well, which includes seeking competent professional care. This obligation arises from the common view that illness is dysfunctional, because it can undermine social stability. Attempting to get well is particularly important in the world’s developing countries. Modern automated industrial societies can absorb a greater degree of illness or disability than horticultural or agrarian societies, in which the availability of workers is far more critical (Conrad 2009b). According to Parsons’s theory, physicians function as gatekeepers for the sick role. They verify a patient’s condition either as â€Å"illness† or as â€Å"recovered. † The ill person becomes dependent on the physician, because the latter can control valued rewards (not only treatment of illness, but also excused absences from work and school). Parsons suggests that the physician–patient relationship is somewhat like that between parent and child. Like a parent, the physician helps the patient to enter society as a full and functioning adult (Weitz 2007). use your sociological imagination Describe some situations you have witnessed that illustrate different definitions of the â€Å"sick role. The concept of the sick role is not without criticism. First, patients’ judgments regarding their own state of health may be related to their gender, age, social class, and ethnic group. For example, younger people may fail to detect warning signs of a dangerous illness, while elderly people may focus too much on the slightest physical malady. Second, the sick role may be more applicable to people who are experiencing short-term illnesses than to those with recurring, long-term illnesses. Finally, even simple factors, such as whether a person is employed, seem to affect one’s willingness to assume the sick role—as does the impact of socialization into a particular occupation or activity. For example, beginning in childhood, athletes learn to define certain ailments as â€Å"sports injuries† and therefore do not regard themselves as â€Å"sick. † Nonetheless, sociologists continue to rely on Parsons’s model for functionalist analysis of the relationship between illness and societal expectations of the sick (Curry 1993). Conflict Approach Conflict theorists observe that the medical profession has assumed a preeminence that extends well beyond whether to excuse a student from school or an employee from work. Sociologist Eliot Freidson (1970:5) has likened the position of medicine today to that of state religions yesterday—it has an officially approved monopoly of the right to define health and illness and to treat illness. Conflict theorists use the term medicalization of society to refer to the growing role of medicine as a major institution of social control (Conrad 2009a; McKinlay and McKinlay 1977; Zola 1972, 1983). The Medicalization of Society Social control involves techniques and strategies for regulating behavior in order to enforce the distinctive norms and values of a culture. Typically, we think of informal social control as occurring within families and peer groups, and formal social control as being carried out by authorized agents such as police officers, judges, school administrators, and employers. Viewed from a conflict perspective, however, medicine is not simply a â€Å"healing profession†; it is a regulating mechanism. How does medicine manifest its social control? First, medicine has greatly expanded its domain of expertise in recent decades. Physicians now examine a wide range of issues, among them sexuality, old age, anxiety, obesity, child development, alcoholism, and drug addiction. We tolerate this expansion of the boundaries of medicine because we hope that these experts can bring new â€Å"miracle cures† to complex human problems, as they have to the control of certain infectious diseases. The social significance of this expanding medicalization is that once a problem is viewed using a medical model—once medical experts become influential in proposing and assessing relevant public policies—it becomes more difficult for common people to join the discussion and exert influence on decision making. It also becomes more difficult to view these issues as being shaped by social, cultural, or psychological factors, rather than simply by physical or medical factors (Caplan 1989; Conrad 2009a). Second, medicine serves as an agent of social control by retaining absolute jurisdiction over many health care procedures. It has even attempted to guard its jurisdiction by placing health care professionals such as chiropractors and nurse-midwives outside the realm of acceptable medicine. Despite the fact that midwives first brought professionalism to child delivery, they have been portrayed as having invaded the â€Å"legitimate† field of obstetrics, both in the United States and Mexico. Nurse-midwives have sought licensing as a way to achieve professional respectability, but physicians continue to exert power to ensure that midwifery remains a subordinate occupation (Scharnberg 2007). Inequities in Health Care The medicalization of society is but one concern of conflict theorists as they assess the workings of health care institutions. As we have seen throughout this textbook, in analyzing any issue, conflict theorists seek to determine who benefits, who suffers, and who dominates at the expense of others. Viewed from a conflict perspective, glaring inequities exist in health care delivery in the United States. For example, poor areas tend to be underserved because medical services concentrate where people are wealthy. Similarly, from a global perspective, obvious inequities exist in health care delivery. Today, the United States has about 27 physicians per 10,000 people, while African nations have fewer than 1 per 10,000. This situation is only worsened by the brain drain—the immigration to the United States and other industrialized nations of skilled workers, professionals, and technicians who are desperately needed in their home countries. As part of this brain drain, physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals have come to the United States from developing countries such as India, Pakistan, and various African states. Conflict theorists view their emigration out of the Third World as yet another way in which the world’s core industrialized nations enhance their quality of life at the expense of developing countries. One way the developing countries suffer is in lower life expectancy. In Africa and much of Latin America and Asia, life expectancy is far lower than in industrialized nations (Bureau of the Census 2009a; World Bank 2009). Figure 15-1 Infant Mortality Rates In Selected Countries Conflict theorists emphasize that inequities in health care have clear life-and-death consequences. From a conflict perspective, the dramatic differences in infant mortality rates around the world (Figure 15-1) reflect, at least in part, unequal distribution of health care resources based on the wealth or poverty of various nations. The infant mortality rate is the number of deaths of infants under 1 year old per 1,000 live births in a given year. This measure is an important indicator of a society’s level of health care; it reflects prenatal nutrition, delivery procedures, and infant screening measures. Still, despite the wealth of the United States, at least 46 nations have lower infant mortality rates, among them Canada, Sweden, and Japan. Conflict theorists point out that, unlike the United States, these countries offer some form of government-supported health care for all citizens, which typically leads to greater availability and use of prenatal care (MacDorman and Mathews 2009). use your sociological imagination From a sociological point of view, what might be the greatest challenge to reducing inequities in health care? Interactionist Approach From an interactionist point of view, patients are not passive; often, they actively seek the services of a health care practitioner. In examining health, illness, and medicine as a social institution, then, interactionists engage in micro-level study of the roles played by health care professionals and patients. Interactionists are particularly interested in how physicians learn to play their occupational role. According to Brenda L. Beagan (2001), the technical language students learn in medical school becomes the basis for the script they follow as novice physicians. The familiar white coat is their costume—one that helps them to appear confident and professional at the same time that it identifies them as doctors to patients and other staff members. Beagan found that many medical students struggle to project the appearance of competence that they think their role demands. Sometimes patients play an active role in health care by failing to follow a physician’s advice. For example, some patients stop taking medications long before they should. Some take an incorrect dosage on purpose, and others never even fill their prescriptions. Such noncompliance results in part from the prevalence of self-medication in our society; many people are accustomed to self-diagnosis and self-treatment. On the other hand, patients’ active involvement in their health care can sometimes have very positive consequences. Some patients read books about preventive health care techniques, attempt to maintain a healthful and nutritious diet, carefully monitor any side effects of medication, and adjust the dosage based on perceived side effects. Labeling Approach Labeling theory helps us to understand why certain people are viewed as deviants, â€Å"bad kids,† or criminals, whereas others whose behavior is similar are not. Labeling theorists also suggest that the designation â€Å"healthy† or â€Å"ill† generally involves social definition by others. Just as police officers, judges, and other regulators of social control have the power to define certain people as criminals, health care professionals (especially physicians) have the power to define certain people as sick. Moreover, like labels that suggest nonconformity or criminality, labels that are associated with illness commonly reshape how others treat us and how we see ourselves. Our society attaches serious consequences to labels that suggest less-than-perfect physical or mental health (H. Becker 1963; C. Clark 1983; H. Schwartz 1994). A historical example illustrates perhaps the ultimate extreme in labeling social behavior as a sickness. As enslavement of Africans in the United States came under increasing attack in the 19th century, medical authorities provided new rationalizations for the oppressive practice. Noted physicians published articles stating that the skin color of Africans deviated from â€Å"healthy† white skin coloring because Africans suffered from congenital leprosy. Moreover, the continuing efforts of enslaved Africans to escape from their White masters were classified as an example of the â€Å"disease† of drapetomania (or â€Å"crazy runaways†). The prestigious New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal suggested that the remedy for this â€Å"disease† was to treat slaves kindly, as one might treat children. Apparently, these medical authorities would not entertain the view that it was healthy and sane to flee slavery or join in a slave revolt (T. Szasz 2010). According to labeling theorists, we can view a variety of life experiences as illnesses or not. Recently, premenstrual syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorders, and hyperactivity have been labeled medically recognized disorders. In addition, the medical community continues to disagree over whether chronic fatigue syndrome constitutes a medical illness. TAKING SOCIOLOGY TO WORK Lola Adedokun, Independent Consultant, Health Care Research Probably the most noteworthy medical example of labeling is the case of homosexuality. For years, psychiatrists classified being gay or lesbian not as a lifestyle but as a mental disorder subject to treatment. This official sanction became an early target of the growing gay and lesbian rights movement in the United States. In 1974, members of the American Psychiatric Association voted to drop homosexuality from the standard manual on mental disorders (Conrad 2009a). Table 15-2 summarizes four major sociological perspectives on health and illness. Although they may seem quite different, two common themes unite them. First, any person’s health or illness is more than an organic condition, since it is subject to the interpretation of others. The impact of culture, family and friends, and the medical profession means that health and illness are not purely biological occurrences, but sociological occurrences as well. Second, since members of a society (especially industrial societies) share the same health care delivery system, health is a group and societal concern. Although health may be defined as the complete well-being of an individual, it is also the result of