Table of Contents
Definition of Sick Role
(noun) The expected patterns of behavior attached to individuals who are sick and those that take care of them.
Sick Role Pronunciation
Syllabification: sick role
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /sIk rOHl/
- British English – /sIk rOHl/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /sɪk roʊl/
- British English – /sɪk rəʊl/
Usage Notes
- Plural: sick roles
- Variant spelling: sick-role
Additional Information
- Aging and Social Gerontology Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Death and Dying Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Medical Sociology Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Role Theory Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “sick” and “role” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Freidson, E. 1970. Profession of Medicine: A Study of the Sociology of Applied Knowledge. New York: Dodd, Mead.
- Glenton, Claire. 2003. “Chronic Back Pain Sufferers: Striving for the Sick Role.” Social Science and Medicine 57(11):2243–52. doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(03)00130-8.
- Parsons, Talcott. 1951. The Social System. New York: Free Press.
- Shilling, Chris. 2002. “Culture, the ‘Sick Role’ and the Consumption of Health.” British Journal of Sociology 53(4):621–38. doi:10.1080/0007131022000021515.
Related Terms
Works Consulted
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Cite the Definition of Sick Role
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “sick role.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved September 17, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/sick-role/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
sick role. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/sick-role/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “sick role.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed September 17, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/sick-role/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“sick role.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 17 Sep. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/sick-role/>.