The experience of Deviance in the Patient-Role: A Study of Class Differences

Abstract

A number of speculations and empirical studies have highlighted the importance of social class structure in relation to medical innovations and public acceptance of medical care. Reviews of medical history by Stern1 and Shryock2 point to the emergence of the middle-class in western societies as crucial to the progress and development of modern medicine. More recently, Simmons has discussed the relevance of the social-class factor in medical care, emphasizing the lack of rapport between middleclass oriented health practitioners and lowerclass patients.3 The existence of social-class communication barriers has also been empirically demonstrated by the extensive and illuminating research of Hollingshead and Redlich.4 Other studies have revealed that members of the lower socioeconomic strata are relatively less exposed to medical-care organizations and also tend to disvalue the services of public health agencies.5 The general hospital is a highly bureaucratized organization with a predominance of secondary-group relationships, particularly between patients and medical-care per-