Affiliations: Department of Behavioural Sciences, Linköping
University, S-581 83 Linköping, Sweden | Division of Social Medicine and Public Health,
Department of Health and Society, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping
University, S-581 83 Linköping, Sweden | Nordic School of Public Health, S-402 42,
Göteborg, Sweden | Personal Injury Prevention, Department of Clinical
Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Box 12718, S-112 94 Stockholm,
Sweden
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Tommy Svensson, Division of
Sociology, Department of Behavioural Sciences, Linköping University S-581
83 Linköping, Sweden. Tel.: +46 13 282214; Fax: +46 13 284466; E-mail:
tomsv@ibv.liu.se
Abstract: Sickness absence is a great public health problem and there is a
lack of knowledge concerning the hows and whys of success or failure in
promoting return to work of sick-listed persons. Discussions of and research
into social and psychological aspects of this problem area are in need of
theoretical contextualisation. In this paper it is suggested that theories of
social emotions may be useful, and that the concept of empowerment can be
applied provided that it is reasonably well defined. The notions of pride/shame
and empowerment are elucidated and discussed, and it is shown that they can be
related in the context of research into emotional dimensions of sickness
absentees' experiences of the rehabilitation process in a way that may help to
guide empirical studies. A simple model of hypothetical relations between
pride/shame, empowerment/disempowerment, work ability, health, and return to
work is sketched.
