The social construction of disability in schizophrenia.

Chronicity and disability can accompany a diagnosis of schizophrenia, but long-term follow-up studies are demonstrating that these outcomes are not inevitable. There is growing awareness that characteristics of long-term illness previously understood to be part of the disorder can be partially constructed through a convergence of physical, psychological, and social processes. In this study, the potential for social construction of disability was explored through secondary analysis of qualitative data. Findings suggest that family, consumers, professionals, and society each have a role in shaping a person with schizophrenia's perceptions of his or her worth, competence, and place in society but that the individuals are not passive recipients of this input.