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The everyday experience of living with risk and uncertainty

Alaszewski, Andy, Coxon, Kirstie (2008) The everyday experience of living with risk and uncertainty. Health, Risk & Society, 10 (5). pp. 413-420. ISSN 1369-8575. (doi:10.1080/13698570802383952) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:14795)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13698570802383952

Abstract

This editorial provides an overview of the articles included in the Special Issue of Health, Risk Society on living with risk and uncertainty. The papers were originally given at the 2006 BSA Risk and Society Study group and the authors were invited to revise them from this Special Issue. In this Editorial, we identify several important themes within the papers. While it has become a commonplace that modern society is a 'risk society,' in which individuals have become responsible for managing an increasing range of potentially life threatening risks, it is not clear how and in what circumstances individuals frame their situation in terms of risk. Henwood and colleagues draw on evidence from three interrelated studies which form part of the Economic and Social Research Council funded network on the Social Contexts and Responses to Risk (SCARR). These authors concluded that 'risk' is not ubiquitous within respondents' accounts but is rather one frame amongst many that can be used. The articles in the Special Issue indicate that a situation is framed as a risk if individuals are aware of the presence of danger which if not correctly or skilfully managed could result in harm, even death. Harries' article on flood risk emphasises the shock and trauma of being flooded and relates how some flood victims experience long term insecurity and anxiety. Gjernes' account of Sami reindeer herders describes the ways in which a combination of external forces threaten the continued existence of Sami culture and their social relations, and Tulloch documents the impact of being directly affected by a bomb attack as well as his resistance to the media accounts and construction of risks. As Zinn indicates, when individuals frame a situation in terms of risk, it does not follow that they will rely upon experts with their cognitive rational approaches to risk management, and they may instead use approaches which are neither rational nor irrational but have elements of both, such as trust. Indeed, in this issue, only Tulloch describes using experts to manage the personal consequences of his post-bomb trauma. There is generally more evidence in these papers of resistance to expert definitions of risk and to expert prescriptions for managing it, whether this is the explicit resistance which Lee describes amongst her bottle-feeding mothers or the transformation of public health messages to fit with lay beliefs which Gjernes describes amongst women reindeer herders in Northern Norway. As Zinn notes, individuals use a variety of approaches to managing risk including those which are apparently irrational such as the denial described by Harries or the 'enduring' described by Honkasalo in her study of women in Northern Karelia in their response to the perceived certainty of a negative outcome; in this case, death from heart disease.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1080/13698570802383952
Additional information: Editorial Material
Uncontrolled keywords: risk uncertainty framing lived experience everyday life
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD61 Risk Management
R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine
R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research > Centre for Health Services Studies
Depositing User: Suzanne Duffy
Date Deposited: 04 Feb 2009 15:49 UTC
Last Modified: 05 Dec 2023 04:03 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/14795 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Alaszewski, Andy.

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6312-7306
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

Coxon, Kirstie.

Creator's ORCID:
CReDIT Contributor Roles:
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