Status Inconsistency and Psychiatric Diagnosis: A Structural Approach to Labeling Theory

This studv was undertaken to examine the relationship between status indicators and psychiatric diagnosis. The basic assumption tested was that infrrmation siuch as the patient's status inconsistency (which is related to role conflict), achieved statits, and ascribed statuts are used in establishing the psychiatric disposition of the patient. The principal 1ypothesis tested was that patients with high status inconsistency would receive the more severe diagnoses (i.e., psychotic) while those wit/h low status inconsistency would receive the less severe diagnoses (i.e., tnon-ps7ychotic). It was found that the statuts inconsistency of the patients yielded the least explanatory power regarding diagnosis. In contrast, employment, occupation, age, and sex all proffer a moderate amount of explanation. The single most powerful predictor variable was the race of the patient. Our conclutsion was that both primary and secondary socialization of the agents for diagnosis (psychiatrists) affected this socially constructed outcome.