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Parsons' Sick Role

👥 Sociology By CampusDown Wiki Editorial Team Last updated
Quick answer: Parsons described the sick role as a social role that exempts the ill from normal duties and blame, in return for trying to get well and seeking competent medical help.
Contents
  1. 1. Background
  2. 2. Rights and obligations
  3. 3. Doctor-patient relationship
  4. 4. Criticisms
  5. 5. References

Background

For Parsons, illness disrupts role performance and is therefore a form of deviance; society channels it through physician legitimation and the institution of the sick role.

Rights and obligations

  • Right 1: exemption from normal social roles, in proportion to severity and certified by a physician.
  • Right 2: not held responsible for the condition.
  • Duty 1: regard illness as undesirable and try to get well.
  • Duty 2: seek technically competent help and cooperate with the physician.

Doctor-patient relationship

Physicians follow professional norms of universalism, affective neutrality, functional specificity and collectivity orientation, in an asymmetric relationship with the patient.

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Criticisms

  • It fits acute illness better than chronic illness and disability.
  • Ability to adopt the role varies by class and culture.
  • Labelling theory notes that some illnesses bring blame rather than exemption.
  • Freidson highlighted medicine's professional power to define illness.

References

  1. Parsons, T. (1951). The Social System. Free Press. (Chapter 10)
  2. Parsons, T. (1975). The sick role and the role of the physician reconsidered. Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, 53(3), 257-278.
  3. Freidson, E. (1970). Profession of Medicine. Dodd, Mead.
  4. Williams, S. J. (2005). Parsons revisited: From the sick role to...? Health, 9(2), 123-144.

Reports and materials that use this theory (Korean)

There are no materials dedicated to this theory yet, but you can search related reports in the CampusDown library (Korean).

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This article was last updated on October 15, 2026. It is based on widely recognized original works and textbooks; when citing it in a paper, please check the original sources listed in the references.