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Sue has been struggling with prescription drug abuse for years. Her coworkers consider her behavior to be extremely disruptive of her work performance and want her to get help for her addiction. Sue's co-workers are examples of:

1) labeling agents
2) deviant agents
3) social control agents
4) strain agents

1 Answer

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Final answer:

Sue's coworkers, concerned with her prescription drug abuse affecting her work, are 'social control agents' who enforce norms and encourage treatment.

Step-by-step explanation:

Sue's coworkers are concerned with her prescription drug abuse and the negative impact it has on her work performance. They are expressing a desire for her to seek help for her addiction. Considering the theoretical frameworks for understanding such situations in a sociological context, the coworkers could be seen as playing the role of social control agents. In sociological terms, social control agents are individuals or groups that attempt to enforce norms and rules to maintain order within a society. By urging Sue to get treatment, they are attempting to correct behavior they deem disruptive and nonconforming to established workplace norms.

This behavior interacts with sociological concepts such as deviance, labeling theory, and the stigmatization surrounding drug addiction. The labeling of Sue's behavior as disruptive by her coworkers could lead to interventions that aim at the individual conforming to social expectations, which in this case involves seeking treatment for substance abuse.

User Daniel Eisenreich
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