ABSTRACT
Social scientists have long been interested in how certain behaviours and social issues become defined or treated as mental disorders. This chapter discusses some of these changes and points to various mediating factors that influence medicalisation, concluding with some suggestions for further research. 'Medicalisation' refers to a definitional process by which previously non-medical problems become defined or treated as medical conditions. Medicalisation can involve the redefinition of existing medical categories. Although not using the term 'medicalisation' explicitly, some early critics considered the expansion of medical knowledge to be a form of medical imperialism. Mediators refer broadly to the mechanisms and resources that support (or detract from) medicalisation. Examples of mediators include the internet, mass media (e.g. television, radio, newspapers, magazines, journals and books), direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA), health insurance, government policies, clinical education and diagnostic and clinical guidelines. Literature on medicalisation has typically focused either on structural factors or individual, subjective factors.
