Section

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During this unit, you will be introduced to the concepts of stigma, deviance and the sick role. You should then be in a position to move on to examine the relationship between certain health conditions and stigma.

Specifically, at the end of this unit you will be able to:

• Define the terms stigma and deviance;
• Explore the concepts of primary and secondary deviance;
• Define the sick role and its various components;
• Explore how the concepts can be applied to health and illness;
• Be aware of how the concepts may effect professional practice.

In order to complete this unit, you should have the following:

• Your brain!
• A general, introductory, sociology text book (e.g. Scambler, 2003 or Armstong, 2003).

Guidelines on these web pages: how to use them, and the various conventions used within them can be found on this link.