From Biographical Disruption to Oscillation: Exploring Illness Identity Tensions Among Young Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in China.

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a chronic metabolic disorder impacting women of reproductive age, with its prevalence consistently increasing in China. Grounded in the biographical disruption framework, this study explores how patients navigate disruptions and oscillating return processes through in-depth interviews with 16 young women diagnosed with PCOS. Three primary sources of disruptions emerged through thematic analysis of patients' illness narratives: conflicting explanations of attributions between biomedical discourse and personal experiences; embodied identity disruptions associated with menstrual and appearance-related symptoms; and negotiations over anticipated futures centred on reproductive expectations. Modern medical and cultural discourses often pathologise PCOS as a failure of femininity and personal responsibility, intensifying identity tensions and moralising illness. In response, participants employ various strategies to reinterpret causation, symptoms, and future concerns, regain narrative control, and repair their biographies. These strategies unfold through nonlinear and oscillating trajectories shaped by life stages, social networks, and cultural expectations. The study highlights how the lived body of PCOS patients becomes a site of conflict and negotiation between self, illness, and society. By foregrounding the intersection of illness, embodied orientations, and cultural context, this research expands the scope of biographical disruption theory, emphasising both gendered embodiment and temporality in chronic illness narratives.