Svårhjälpta, passiva och ohörda : Medias beskrivning av samsjuklighet och de som drabbas

Sammanfattning: Media shapes the public´s perceptions of social problems and how we understand the people affected by them. This study investigates the shaping of dual diagnosis, a concept that refers to the co-occurrence of a mental illness and substance use, a phenomena that has gained increased prominence in the last decades. While those suffering from dual diagnosis rarely have their voices heard in research, they are typically described as vulnerable to falling ´between the gaps´ of service systems. The aim of this study was to examine how dual diagnosis was constructed in Swedish daily press. Through the search database Retriever 64 articles were selected and analyzed using Jönson´s coding scheme on the constructions of social problems. Theoretically the study was guided by Loseke´s theory on claims making and constructions of problems. The results showed that the social problem of dual diagnosis was constructed by the articles to be a serious, complex and shameful problem, associated with other problems such as suicide, isolation and poverty. The people suffering from dual diagnosis was consistently described as physical objects, being shuffled around the system. Their perspective were absent in the majority of the articles. The solutions consisted of improvement of the health care system and legislative changes, constructed as simple and immediately applicable.