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Interpersonal issues in expressing lay knowledge: a discursive psychology approach.

Bregje De Kok¹, Sue Widdicombe

¹Queen Margaret University, Musselburgh, UK. bdekok@qmu.ac.uk

Journal of Health Psychology

|June 1, 2010

Summary

People with infertility often deny knowing causes, yet describe potential factors. This response manages social concerns about medical knowledge and stigmatized infertility causes.

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Area of Science:

Social Psychology
Medical Sociology
Qualitative Research

Background:

Understanding lay knowledge of infertility causes is crucial for public health.
Previous research has not fully explored the social dynamics behind how people discuss infertility.
Fertility issues carry significant social and personal weight in many communities.

Purpose of the Study:

To examine how individuals with fertility problems discuss knowledge of infertility causes.
To analyze the social and interpersonal functions of knowledge claims about infertility.

Main Methods:

Discursive psychology analysis of semi-structured interviews.
Purposive sampling of Malawians experiencing fertility problems.
Focus on the interactional accomplishment of knowledge and its social implications.

Main Results:

Respondents frequently denied knowing infertility causes, often emphatically.
This denial co-occurred with detailed descriptions of potential causes.
The findings reveal a management of interpersonal issues related to entitlement to medical knowledge and social stigma.

Conclusions:

Lay discussions of infertility causes are shaped by social concerns, not just factual knowledge.
Discursive psychology offers valuable insights into how social norms influence health-related knowledge.
Implications for understanding and addressing infertility stigma and health communication.