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Personal narratives, social careers and medical courses: Analysing life trajectories in autobiographies of people with multiple sclerosis

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  • Robinson, Ian

Abstract

Personal accounts of illness have always proved difficult to analyse. Using the distinction between personal narratives of illness, social careers of sickness and physical courses of disease this paper argues that such narratives provide an important and complementary means of understanding changes in health status. In developing a broad typology of such narratives it is argued that they can be considered as thermatically organised life stories. Personal accounts of the lives of people with multiple sclerosis are subject to narrative analysis, and the value of such perspectives is stressed in giving access to the personal world of illness.

Suggested Citation

  • Robinson, Ian, 1990. "Personal narratives, social careers and medical courses: Analysing life trajectories in autobiographies of people with multiple sclerosis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 30(11), pages 1173-1186, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:30:y:1990:i:11:p:1173-1186
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    Cited by:

    1. Crooks, Valorie A., 2007. "Exploring the altered daily geographies and lifeworlds of women living with fibromyalgia syndrome: A mixed-method approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 577-588, February.
    2. Inge M Brokerhof & Jan Fekke Ybema & P Matthijs Bal, 2020. "Illness narratives and chronic patients’ sustainable employability: The impact of positive work stories," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(2), pages 1-17, February.
    3. Davenport, Nancy H.M., 2011. "Medical residents' use of narrative templates in storytelling and diagnosis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(6), pages 873-881, September.
    4. Gately, Claire & Rogers, Anne & Sanders, Caroline, 2007. "Re-thinking the relationship between long-term condition self-management education and the utilisation of health services," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(5), pages 934-945, September.
    5. Helen Busby, 2000. "Writing about Health and Sickness: An Analysis of Contemporary Autobiographical Writing from the British Mass-Observation Archive," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 5(2), pages 11-22, September.
    6. Shubin, Sergei & Rapport, Frances & Seagrove, Anne, 2015. "Complex and dynamic times of being chronically ill: Beyond disease trajectories of patients with ulcerative colitis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 105-112.
    7. Stockl, Andrea, 2007. "Complex syndromes, ambivalent diagnosis, and existential uncertainty: The case of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(7), pages 1549-1559, October.
    8. Kendall, Elizabeth & Catalano, Tara & Kuipers, Pim & Posner, Natasha & Buys, Nicholas & Charker, Jill, 2007. "Recovery following stroke: The role of self-management education," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 735-746, February.
    9. Nakata, Cheryl & Sharp, Lisa K. & Spanjol, Jelena & Cui, Anna Shaojie & Izberk-Bilgin, Elif & Crawford, Stephanie Y. & Xiao, Yazhen, 2021. "Narrative arcs and shaping influences in long-term medication adherence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    10. Ville, Isabelle & Khlat, Myriam, 2007. "Meaning and coherence of self and health: An approach based on narratives of life events," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(4), pages 1001-1014, February.
    11. Gavin Daker-White & Caroline Sanders & Anne Rogers & Ivaylo Vassliev & Christian Blickem & Sudeh Cheraghi-Sohi, 2014. "A Constellation of Misfortune," SAGE Open, , vol. 4(4), pages 21582440145, November.
    12. Sanders, Caroline & Rogers, Anne & Gately, Claire & Kennedy, Anne, 2008. "Planning for end of life care within lay-led chronic illness self-management training: The significance of 'death awareness' and biographical context in participant accounts," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(4), pages 982-993, February.

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