Risk in the Making: Narrative, Problematic Integration, and the Social Construction of Risk

Narrative plays a prominent role in interpretations and explanations of social reality, particularly in our efforts to understand uncertainties in time, such as social constructions of risk. This article synthesizes narrative and problematic integration theory as a way to illuminate the construction of risk. We argue that the very existence of risks in our lives is constituted and signified through storied explanations, expectations, and evaluations of potentially significant but uncertain experiences through time. We illustrate these ideas with an analysis of news reporting on several contemporary risks and offer alternative understandings to complete the argument that, as social constructions, risks can be understood and lived in multiple ways.