Dixon Jeremy
Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath, UK.
Sociol Health Illn. 2018 Jul;40(6):1053-1068. doi: 10.1111/1467-9566.12740. Epub 2018 Apr 18.
Narratives have been used in both the sociology of health and illness and in criminology to examine how groups of people present themselves in moral terms. This article focuses on the narratives of offenders with mental health problems in England subject to section 37/41 of the Mental Health Act 1983 to examine how they justified offending prior to admission. Participants presented illness in a variety of different ways indicating a range of moral positions towards offending. In line with previous research a first group used mental illness to excuse offending and saw themselves as achieving moral reform through treatment. A second group also used illness to excuse offending, but did so inconsistently, seeking to mitigate responsibility whilst distancing themselves from treatment obligations. A third group portrayed themselves as dishonourable both due to their category of offence and the type of illness experienced. A final group rejected both labels of illness and offending, seeking to portray themselves as consistently moral.
叙事已被应用于健康与疾病社会学以及犯罪学领域，用以研究人们如何从道德层面展现自身。本文聚焦于依据1983年《精神健康法》第37/41条接受治疗的英格兰患有心理健康问题的罪犯的叙事，旨在探究他们在入院前如何为自己的犯罪行为辩解。参与者以多种不同方式呈现疾病，这表明他们对犯罪持有一系列道德立场。与先前研究一致，第一组人利用精神疾病为犯罪行为开脱，并认为自己通过治疗实现了道德改造。第二组人同样利用疾病为犯罪行为辩解，但方式并不一致，他们试图减轻责任，同时又逃避治疗义务。第三组人因其犯罪类别和所患疾病类型而将自己描绘成不光彩的形象。最后一组人既拒绝疾病标签，也拒绝犯罪标签，试图将自己描绘成始终坚守道德的人。
