THE CONTINUUM: SOMATIC DISTRESS TO MEDICALIZATION IN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER: THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT

Abstract

The sequence of stress, distress and somatization has occupied much of the late twentieth-century psychological research. The anatomy of stress can be viewed from interactional and hybrid theories that suggest that the individual relates with the surroundings by buffering the harmful effects of stressors. These acts or reactions are called coping strategies and are designed as protection from the stressors and adaptation to them. Failure to successfully adapt to stressors results in psychological distress. In some individuals, elevated levels of distress and failed coping are expressed in physical symptoms, rather than through feelings, words, or actions. Such “somatization” defends against the awareness of the psychological distress, as demonstrated in the psychosocial literature. The progression of behavior resulting from somatic distress moves from a private domain into the public arena, involving an elaborate medicalization process, is however less clear in sociological discourse. The invocation of a medical diagnosis to communicate physical discomfort by way of repeated use of health care services poses a major medical, social and economic problem. The goal of this paper is to clarify this connection by investigating the relevant literature in the area of women with breast cancer. This manuscript focuses on the relationship of psychological stress, the stress response of distress, and the preoccupation with one’s body, and proposes a new theoretical construct.

Citation

Breslau, E.S. (2003), "THE CONTINUUM: SOMATIC DISTRESS TO MEDICALIZATION IN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER: THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT", Texler Segal, M., Demos, V. and Kronenfeld, J.J. (Ed.) Gender Perspectives on Health and Medicine (Advances in Gender Research, Vol. 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 131-180. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1529-2126(03)07005-X