Social recovery from multiple chemical sensitivity: between contested illnesses and environmental diseases

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K12932
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 08010:Sociology-related
• Research Institution: Takasaki City University of Economics
• Principal Investigator: Uda Kazuko 高崎経済大学, 地域政策学部, 准教授 (90733551)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 化学物質過敏症 / 論争中の病 / 環境病 / 電磁波過敏症 / 診断

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, I conducted interviews with relevant persons in various regions in order to clarify the difficulty in the daily life of people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (CS). As a result, the following points were found. First, medically and sociologically, the CS sufferer should be called as a person with CS, rather than a patient. Secondly, in order to avoid both social deviation and chemical exposure, CS people adopt a strategy of using relatively recognized and legitimate disease names to induce other people to cooperate with the measures against the trigger. Thirdly, the dilemma arises that although it is difficult for CS people to be understood by others, they are always required to explain their symptoms to others because CS is characterized by both contested illness and environmental disease.

Free Research Field

環境社会学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究成果の学術的意義は、環境社会学と保健医療社会学が生成してきた病に関する概念を用いることで、CSの社会的特徴を解明したことである。これは、これまで棲み分けを行ってきた二つの連字符社会学を、CSという一つの病いによって架橋しようとしたとも言える。
その社会的意義は、CS発症者が日常的に他者との間で経験する困難さが、なにゆえもたらされるのかを明らかにしたことである。周囲の者が発症者の症状を肩代わりすることはできないが、他者への説明や交渉を代わりに行うことはできる。CS発症者の生活回復は、単に症状の軽減だけでなく、そうしたコミュニケーションの仲介によっても行われうることを示した。