Exploring the Impact of Stigma on Health and Wellbeing: Insights from Mothers with Lived Experience Accessing Recovery Services

Lydia Lochhead (), Michelle Addison, John Cavener, Steph Scott and William McGovern ()
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Lydia Lochhead: Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE7 7XA, UK
Michelle Addison: Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Health, Durham University, Durham DH1 3HN, UK
John Cavener: Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE7 7XA, UK
Steph Scott: Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK
William McGovern: Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE7 7XA, UK

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 9, 1-12

Abstract: Stigmatisation is the process by which an individual is devalued based on their attributes, characteristics, and/or behaviour, with this often leading to prejudice, social and health-related harms, active discrimination, and microaggressions. The aim of this paper is to show how social harms can occur and how stigma is damaging to the health and wellbeing of a person in recovery. To do so, we focus on the harms that arise from the internalisation of labels that mothers who use drugs encounter in a treatment and recovery setting whilst in active recovery, and how this stigmatisation can manifest negative self-beliefs. Qualitative data was used from two semi-structured focus groups involving females with lived experience of substance use ( n = 13). A reflexive thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the interview transcripts, and three themes were identified: (1) the enduring nature of stigma; (2) gender disparity and the need for mothers- and women-only spaces; and (3) stigma as a barrier to services and wellbeing. Findings revealed the enduring nature of stigma amongst mothers who were in active recovery, with women feeling judged more harshly than men and experiencing pressure to live up to a “good mother” ideal whilst in recovery. This paper demonstrates that mothers in recovery are still stigmatised and, as a consequence, approach services with increased sensitivity, with stigma often resulting in disengagement or reluctance to access healthcare settings. We conclude that staff in health, social, and primary care settings need to develop a strong therapeutic alliance with mothers in recovery and promote anti-stigma approaches in their practice, in order to mitigate stigma and reduce harms to health and wellbeing.

Keywords: recovery; stigma; mothers who use drugs (MWUD); treatment; mental health; health services (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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