Coping and social action: theoretical reconstruction of the life‐event approach
Sociology of Health & IllnessPublished 1 September 1979Open access
Uta Gerhardt
Citations37
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score1.19
SNIP1.48
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TL;DR
It is argued that the analysis of psychological coping calls for an ethnomethodological paradigm while the study of social coping necessitates a Marxist approach.
Abstract
Summary Despite the wide range of literature about life‐events, there has been very little on life‐event research. This paper attempts a critical analysis of the theoretical assumptions which go into life‐event research. The focus is sociological, i.e. the question is asked in what way coping can be conceptualized as social action. Three types of coping are discerned in the life‐event literature, namely, psycho‐physiological, psychological, and social. It is argued that the analysis of psychological coping calls for an ethnomethodological paradigm while the study of social coping necessitates a Marxist approach.
Keywords
PsychologySocial Sciences
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