Epilepsy, Self and Society: A Study of Three Groups of Adolescent Epileptics

The major aim of this substantive study in sociology is to examine some of the societal, social and individual meanings associated with epilepsy and to look at some of the implications of these meanings both for society and for individuals. Like all other disciplines sociology has its own way of dividing up the world and this study draws upon three areas of this division, the sociologies of deviance, medicine and knowledge.

The experiences of three groups of adolescents with epilepsy are studied in depth; one group living in the community, one group serving sentences of borstal training and a third group who are associated with a hospital specializing in treating those with psychiatric problems.

Chapter One raises the fundamental question posed in this study, which is ’why do epileptics have trouble?' and suggests that the basis of such trouble is the way society treats the individual epileptic rather than any difficulties inherent in the illness itself. Chapter Two then examines some of the methodological issues relevant to doing interpretive sociology and describes the techniques used and developed during the research. Chapter Three studies some of the social meanings associated with epilepsy from a historical perspective and discusses how these meanings change over time. Chapter Four looks at some of the special (professional) views about epilepsy and attempts to relate these views to historical and personal experiences of the professionals concerned. Chapters Five and Six are squarely within the interactionist tradition and discuss the experiences of the three groups of adolescent epileptics utilizing the concepts of role and self. The final Chapter develops the concept of non-visible social deviance in relationship to social control in past and present society and suggests a number of reasons why epileptics do indeed have trouble.