ABSTRACT
British Journal of Psychiatry, \09, 785-802. Wing, J. (ed.) (1978) Schizophrenia: Towards a New Synthesis, Acade-
mic Press.
Scrounger A scrounger is someone who begs or wheedles gifts.
SELECTIVITY
The term 'welfare scrounger' or the· description of someone as 'scrounging off the welfare' expresses moral disapproval of a considerable range of behaviour, encompassing those who claim benefits through frauds, those who do not comply with their national insurance contribution liabilities, and those who are more generally seen as not making efforts of which they are deemed capable towards independence from outside help or who manipulate welfare systems. In welfare, the 'scrounger' is important as part of the image of certain recipients of benefit which is emphasised at particular times in the media - Deacon (1978) argues that in 1976 public concern over possible abuse was expressed more widely than at any time since the 1920s - and because of the resources devoted to the detection and prosecution of fraud. Cases of social security frauds approved for prosecution increased from nearly 9,000 in 1970 to about 27,800 in 1977. Deacon, A. (1976) In Search of the Scrounger: the Administration of
Unemployment Insurance in Britain, 1921-1931, Bell. Deacon, A. (1978) 'The Scrounging Controversy: Public Attitudes
towards the Unemployed in Contemporary Britain', Social and Economic Administration, 12, 120-32.
