Sociological and psychological theories of self-neglect.
BACKGROUND
Self-neglect can be defined as the failure to engage in those self-care actions necessary to maintain a socially acceptable standard of personal and household hygiene and/or a failure to adequately care for one's own health. It is generally acknowledged that research and practice in the area of self-neglect has been hampered by a lack of theoretical development. Socio-psychological theories, such as 'social constructivism' and 'negotiated interactionism' can contribute to a deeper understanding of the phenomenon and to the further development of self-neglect theory.


OBJECTIVE
This paper seeks to apply social and psychological theories to understanding self-neglect. Self-neglect is an underconceptualized phenomenon, which requires to be studied within a broader theoretical context than is at present the case.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Lauder
William
W
School of Nursing and Health Studies, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. j.g.barnes@cqu.edu.au
Anderson
Isobel
I
Barclay
Aileen
A
D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008960:Models, Psychological; D018187:Personal Construct Theory; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011593:Psychology, Social; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology*; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D012962:Sociology, Medical; D013240:Stereotyping