Disease Mongering in DTCA and the Expansion of the Antidepressant Market

• In Event: 355 - Section on Economic Sociology Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 09. From Niche to Market

Abstract

The trend toward health care consumerism has been facilitated by several entities, and two of the most influential are pharmaceutical companies and health care consumers. In this paper, we use the case of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) for antidepressant medications to examine advertising techniques used to promote consumer interest in pharmaceutical products, and ultimately, to expand an already vast antidepressant market. We used content analysis of DTCA to identify advertising techniques that promote consumer interest in and use of antidepressant drugs, and we analyzed in-depth interviews to examine how such messages are received. Findings are presented within a framework of economic sociology, which allowed us to unveil the links between emotions and social action that undergird responses to advertising techniques and consumption of advertised products.

Author

• Jennifer Arney, University of Houston Clear Lake