Medicalization
Behaviors once viewed as moral failings, such as heavy drinking, come to be defined and treated as medical conditions. This process is:
Answer C: explanation for every choice
A
The sick role describes the rights and obligations of a person who is ill.
B
Deinstitutionalization moved psychiatric patients out of large hospitals into community care.
C
Correct. Medicalization brings a behavior or condition under medical definition and control.
D
Secularization is the declining influence of religion in society.
TakeawayMedicalization: redefining a behavior as a medical problem.
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Reviewed 2026-11-05 by a medical student. Spot an error? Report it with question ID ps141.