ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author examines the course the respectability process has taken: the publicity given prominent recovered alcoholics; the enhanced status provided by interested legislators and a national institute; the softening of language; and the improved image inherent in the establishment of a clearinghouse for information. Styles for legitimating social problems change from one era to the next, but one could hazard that the rise of clearinghouses in recent years and the fact that they are stretched into smaller and smaller territories, is indicative of their importance in maintaining respectability. A 1976 decision in the District Court for Maryland established that impairment need not be medically specific to qualify for Social Security benefits—the disability need only prevent the individual from engaging in gainful employment.
