The Social Rights and Responsibilities of Pregnant Women: An Application of Parsons's Sick Role Model

Abstract

A study sought to identify the role expectations ascribed to pregnancy, and to examine whether such expectations differed across categories of socioeconomic status, age, race, and gender. In particular, the adequacy of Parsons `s model of the sick role for describing social expectations for pregnant women was analyzed. For each of the four components of Parsons `s sick role, items were developed for a questionnaire administered to a sample of 329 adults in a metropolitan community. The results indicate that for the vast majority of the respondents, the behavior expected of pregnant women is similar to Parsons's sick role. A factor analysis of item responses, however, reveals that they are not unidimensional. Furthermore, significant variation occurred across categories of socioeconomic status, gender, race, and age in the extent to which respondents ascribed the four implications of these findings are discussed.