Constructing Identity after Mood Disorder Diagnosis: Self, Social, and Institutional Dynamics among Chinese College Students

• In Event: Critical perspectives on the experiences of students of color

Abstract

Receiving a diagnosis of mood disorders marks a turning point in identity. Drawing on interviews with 15 college students with mood disorders in China, this study explores how they construct their illness identity across three dimensions: self, social, and institutional. Through obtaining their diagnosis, meaning-making, and choosing coping strategies, students integrate the identity of someone with mood disorders into their self-concept. By careful disclosure, others’ reactions, and participation in the patient community, they acquire the social identity as students with mood disorders. Institutional identity is shaped by the surveillance, deprivation of opportunities, and exclusion from Chinese society and higher education systems, as well as by the students’ efforts to resist and escape institutional pressures.

Authors

• Yuting Liang, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Gary Lam, The Chinese University of Hong Kong