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Drawing upon earlier formulations, this paper further develops an explicitly sociological theory of the causation and course of stable mental disorder. Central to this theory are nine propositions which require empirical testing. By delimiting the kinds of behavior which are to be explained, by drawing upon findings from previous studies, and by utilizing purely sociological concepts (such as the concept of residual deviance), a model is proposed in which the dynamics of mental disorder occur within the system constituted by the deviant and those reacting to his behavior. According to the theory developed here, the causes for the initiation, maintenance, and termination for the type of deviant behavior referred to as mental disorder in Western society are part of the social system, and analytically separable, therefore, from endopsychic
Thomas J. Scheff (Sun,) studied this question.