Why mental disorders flourish and wither: Extending Hacking’s theory of ecological niches

TY - JOUR

T1 - Why mental disorders flourish and wither

T2 - Extending Hacking’s theory of ecological niches

AU - Brossard, Baptiste Pascal Marylin

PY - 2019/9/1

Y1 - 2019/9/1

N2 - Why do some mental illnesses emerge in certain times and places and later disappear? Because it integrates a wide array of social processes and relies on a strong epistemological position, Hacking's theory of ecological niches constitutes the most comprehensive and ambitious attempt to answer this question. However, this theory lacks a convincing definition of its research object (“transient mental illnesses”), a conceptualization of how individuals would “fall ill” as well as a solid methodological framework to form case studies. This article addresses these issues in order to propose an extended theory of ecological niches.

AB - Why do some mental illnesses emerge in certain times and places and later disappear? Because it integrates a wide array of social processes and relies on a strong epistemological position, Hacking's theory of ecological niches constitutes the most comprehensive and ambitious attempt to answer this question. However, this theory lacks a convincing definition of its research object (“transient mental illnesses”), a conceptualization of how individuals would “fall ill” as well as a solid methodological framework to form case studies. This article addresses these issues in order to propose an extended theory of ecological niches.

KW - mental health

KW - mental disorders

KW - mental ilnnesses

KW - ian hacking

KW - ecological niches

KW - sociological theory

U2 - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112445

DO - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112445

M3 - Article

SN - 0277-9536

VL - 237

JO - Social Science & Medicine

JF - Social Science & Medicine

M1 - 112445

ER -