Double Deviance

Abstract

In The Social System (1951), Talcott Parsons reconsidered his abstract analysis of society and discussed empirical material from his involvement in a field study in hospitals in the Boston area. In Chapter X, he made some general reflections on the doctor–patient relationship developing an analysis by which he thought to present a better understanding of medical practice as a sub-system of modern western society. The following chapter in this volume is another similar exercise in applied theory; it links Parsons’ medical sociology with his ideas on deviant behavior and uses material from a recent research study on the treatment of young drug users. This target group typically represents two sub-systems of society: the health system and the criminal justice system. The role of young drug users at the junction of health and law enforcement exposes them to an interesting situation of what is termed in this article as “double-deviance.” This situation will be examined with the help of Talcott Parsons’ terminology, particularly the notions of motivational patterns, social control, and Parsons’ understanding of “unconscious psychotherapy.”