La maladie cœliaque et les allergies alimentaires sévères : les effets sur les relations sociales au Québec
This research is about the social consequences, in Québec, of the celiac disease and food allergies.  Its aim is to bring an explanation and a better understanding of how celiac disease and food allergies influence the social relations, the social activities and the perceptions of the people that are living with those conditions and their close relations. With this aim in mind, semi-directed interviews were carried out with 11 participants that were either celiac, allergic or near relations.  During these interviews, diagnostic, food accidents, accessibility, activities with friends, the family’s reaction and adaptation, perceptions and relationships were the main topics that were discussed.  The experiences of the people living with celiac disease (CD) or food allergies (FA) were compared following their description.  The data stemming from the interviews was analysed by using Bourdieu’s habitus concept (1980), Giddens’s concepts of agency and rules (1979), concepts of exclusion and identity as well as the definitions of sickness, illness and disease and a gravity scale of perceptions. From this research will be noticed that perception of illness is different for the people living with CD than those living with FA.  CD tends to be taken less in charge by health professionals and to be taken with less seriousness, by people living with CD and the general population, than FA are.  Both conditions lead to a modification of habitus and an adaptation phase.  Nevertheless, these changes seem to be harder to deal with and more complex for people living with CD than for people living with FA because of the age period where the condition was revealed.  Depending on the flexibility of the individual and group habitus, the confrontation to the recasting of habitus will go more or less well.  If the confrontation is more on the negative side of the spectrum, social disapproval or personal denial will take place, leading to exclusion.  The literature generally shows that the quality of life for people living with CD and FA gradually diminishes over time, bringing negative social, emotional and physical consequences.  My participants, however, are apparently living well with their respective conditions because they benefit from a good support of their peers.
Habitus Agency Perceptions Celiac disease Food allergy Social consequences Exclusion Illness Identity Rules