Negotiating “Self-Stigma” and an “Addicted Identity” in Traditional 12-Step Self-Help Groups

Drugs, Identity and Stigma. By MichelleAddison, WilliamMcGovern & RuthMcGovern. Chan, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022. ISBN: 9783030982867

“…Several papers continue the older sociological tradition of studying how stigma is dealt with at the individual level. The book's editors contribute a paper on choices in handling the ‘self‐stigma’ of acknowledging addiction by joining Alcoholic Anonymous or another 12‐Step group, finding that among those maintaining some connection with the group, in contrast to the fully committed ‘defenders of the legacy’, there are both ‘partial appropriators’ and ‘repudiators’ [4]. Another paper, by Muir, McGovern & Kaner, draws upon qualitative studies to explore ‘associative stigma’ [5] for children whose parents are heavy users of alcohol or other drugs, finding that young people in this situation are often ‘labelled with derogatory terms’ and experience shame.…”