Den könskodade samsjukligheten - En kvalitativ studie om hur socialsekreterare talar om samsjuklighet i förhållande till kön.

In this study, our aim is to analyse if social workers construct sex and maintain gender differences in their approach to men and women with comorbidity. We define a comorbid person as someone sustained from mental illness in general and who at the same time use substances. We apply a qualitative method with semi- structured interviews where we interview social workers who work with substance use in different social service offices. We analyse our material by using a social constructivism theory and Judith Butler's gender theory to understand the construction and significance of sex and gender. We find that social workers construct gender and sex when they speak of comorbidity and thus reconstruct gender perceptions of what is feminine and masculine. Comorbidity becomes a gendered codification where social workers assign women and men different qualities based on expectations of their gender