Sociological and psychological theories of self‐neglect

Abstract

Sociological and psychological theories offer radically different ways of looking at self-neglect, as opposed to the medical model, as they seek to explain and understand, rather than simply classify it as a medical disorder caused by some form of underlying psychopathology. These theories emphasize the dynamic and interpretative nature of self-neglect and illustrate the arbitrary way in which this label is applied.

Factors influencing nurses’ judgements about self‐neglect cases

“…The variables, or dimensions as they are commonly referred to in the methodological literature, used in the study included information on the following client characteristics: age, ethnicity, gender, mental illness, personal appearance, appearance of house, functional ability, medical care information and social relationships. The variables and their levels () were developed from the literature and the past research of the principal investigator (Lauder 1999a, Lauder et al . 2001, 2002, 2005), theoretical and empirical considerations, with more pragmatic considerations also playing a part in the decision to limit the complexity of vignettes.…”

Social Networks: A Profile of the Elderly Who Self-Neglect

“…The presence of social support is important because individuals who self-neglect often live in isolation from others and tend to have medical co-morbidities that may impair cognitive decision-making and the ability to provide self-care. For instance, studies investigating samples of community-dwelling elders living in squalor and failing to maintain adequate self-care standards reported that these individuals were living in isolation and suffered from mental health conditions and advanced cognitive impairments (Lauder, Anderson, & Barclay, 2002;Lauder, 1999). Additionally, a more recent study by Pickens et al (2006), showed that among a group of 50 APS validated cases of elder self-neglect, 45% with intact cognition and 60% with impaired cognition were unable to live independently.…”

Developing self‐neglect theory: analysis of related and atypical cases of people identified as self‐neglecting

“…This sample is a very different group than evident in previous studies (Macmillan & Shaw 1966, Cooney & Hamid 1995, Lauder et al. 2002), but they had been identified as self‐neglecting and had many key features of self‐neglect.…”

“…2006). Theoretical perspectives include those emphasizing self‐care (Rathbone‐McCuan & Bricker‐Jenkins 1992) and social constructionism (Lauder et al. 2002), although most studies found in the literature are atheoretical.…”

“…Equally, the transition, if indeed there is such, between living a squalid but non‐pathological lifestyle choice and severe self‐neglect, as defined by clinicians and law makers, is difficult to logically sustain. Self‐neglect diagnoses or classifications are based around the implicit notion of a threshold of behaviours, the crossing of which is abnormal (Lauder et al. 2002).…”