Honors Program
University Honors
Date of Award
5-2025
Thesis Professor(s)
Stacey Williams
Thesis Professor Department
Psychology
Thesis Reader(s)
Julia Dodd
Abstract
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder among those with ovaries during reproductive age. Those with PCOS often face a wide range of stigma, including from their loved ones, due to the visible symptoms of PCOS (i.e., excess body weight and facial/body hair than typically expected for bodies of those assigned female at birth; Williams, 2023). Research on social control states that often family and close others may encourage healthier behaviors (i.e., social control; Rook, 2011) but this behavior is likely to be viewed as stigma. The present investigation, which was part of a larger online survey study entitled “PCOS Stories Study” and was approved by the ETSU IRB, examined social control experiences in 77 individuals with PCOS. Close-ended survey items using Likert scaling gauged how often particular social control efforts by loved ones occurred (Lewis & Rook, 1999). Additionally, participants responded to open-ended items asking them to recall a time when a loved one urged them to change their health behaviors (e.g., to lose weight) and how that made them feel. Three undergraduate research assistants, with supervision by the Primary Investigator, used reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clark, 2022) to qualitatively code responses to the open-ended question. Thematic analysis resulted in three central themes: Behavioral Manipulation, Psychological Offense, and Healthism. In addition, individuals living with PCOS responded with mostly negative emotions to the social control behaviors of loved ones. The most commonly reported emotions were shame and sadness, followed by guilt and anger. These findings further support the idea that though loved ones may intend to help those with PCOS through social control behaviors, individuals receiving that "help" experience it negatively.
Publisher
East Tennessee State University
Document Type
Honors Thesis - Open Access
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Hampton, Sarah G., "Social Control Experiences Among Individuals with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome" (2025). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 857. https://dc.etsu.edu/honors/857
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.
