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Diagnostisering av psykisk ohälsa och behandling med psykofarmaka blir allt vanligare. Men frågan är om det sättet att hantera människors problem är det mest hjälpsamma? I boken presenteras medicinsk och samhällsvetenskaplig forskning som visar att den medicinska modellen, som baseras på diagnostisering, medicinering och symtomreduktion, kan ifrågasättas. Författaren beskriver på vilket sätt ett sociologiskt perspektiv kan skapa en djupare förståelse av psykiatrins kritiska situation och vill med boken också inspirera till förnyelse för att bättre möta de lidandes behov.

Population ageing and international migration are two of the major societal trends challenging European elderly care regimes at present. Virtually no research has addressed how public discourses about the implications of these trends for elderly care are shaped in different countries. This article addresses this knowledge gap, examining how Swedish daily newspaper (SvD and DN) reporting on elderly care between 1995 and 2017 (N=370) depicts the impact of increased ethno-cultural diversity on this sector. Through content analysis, this article brings attention to the representations of migrants and culture that this reporting has deployed, and the rhetorical practices that the reporting has relied on (i.e. genre stratification, hegemonisation, homogenisation, normative referencing and idealisation/ diminishment). The article exposes how the ‘Othering’ of migrants is accomplished in Sweden’s daily newspaper reporting on elderly care, and problematizes the ethea of inclusiveness and equality of care with which we have come to associate this welfare sector.

This article sheds light on the ways in which migrant care workers in the elderly care sector were represented in Swedish daily newspaper articles published between 1995 and 2017 (n = 370); it uses the notions of the “ethics of care” and “caring democracy” as a prism through which the findings can be made sense of. By bringing attention to the fact that they are often described as the solution par excellence to the staffing crisis Swedish elderly care is experiencing, this article draws attention to portrayals of these workers as people who are  both particularly good at caring and capable of providing culture-appropriate care. Thus, although depicted as “particular Others,” these workers are represented as an asset to the sector – a sector that is thought to offer much needed but highly undervalued services. By bringing attention to both of these representations, and using the theoretical and conceptual framework “ethics of care” formulated by Tronto, the article questions whether Sweden – a country often described as the epitome of an egalitarian society – can be regarded as a caring democracy.

This article aims to examine how scientific critique of pharmacological treatment with Ritalin, Concerta and Strattera for ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is handled in eight of the largest newspapers in Sweden, 2002-2015 (n=183 articles). The media study explores the terminology used; the depiction of long-Term harmful effects; the actors given space to express their views; the attention displayed to alternative treatments; the representation of pharmaceutical studies; the role of news and debate articles; the significance of conflicts of interest; and whether ADHD is portrayed as a medical condition. The results show that mass media, in numerous ways, neglects or undermines the critique of pharmacological interventions for ADHD put forward in the scientific literature. In the article a social constructionist approach to psychotropic agents is developed, highlighting the significance of what the authors call "psy- chopharmacological elasticity." The concept illustrates that the boundary between medicines and harmful agents, such as drugs, is flexible from a scientific standpoint and depends on collective definitional processes in society.

Recension av:

Peter C. Gøtzsche, Dödliga mediciner och organiserad brottslighet: Hur läkemedelsindustrin har korrumperat sjuk- och hälsovården. Stockholm: Karneval förlag, 2015

This study examines how the Swedish mass media has dealt with the opposition against the neuropsychiatric diagnosis ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Drawing on empirical data from eight of the largest newspapers in Sweden (n=778 articles) the study focuses on the scientific controversy of DAMP, 2000-2006. DAMP (Dysfunction in Attention, Motor Control and Perception) is a diagnostic term denoting difficulties similar to ADHD, and which was used in Sweden at the time of the controversy. The study uncovers the ideological role played by the mass media during the DAMP-controversy, and demonstrates the significance of genre. While the spokespersons for DAMP/ADHD were given exclusive and systematic access to the news genre, the forum of fact-production in the mass media, the critics of DAMP/ADHD were confined to arguing and expressing their opinions in the debate genre. Based on the various effects of genre differences a comprehensive analytical tool for the sociology of knowledge, called genre stratification, is developed in the study.