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"Jag har inte bott på en parkbänk liksom..." : Om stigman kring narkotikamissbruk

Elkouhen Morssy, Mona LU and Backström, Linn LU (2017) SOPA63 20162
School of Social Work
Abstract
"It’s not like I’ve lived on a park bench…" : About stigmas surrounding narcotics abuse

There are stigmas surrounding the abuse of narcotics that the members of society
share and uphold. The stigma is produced by the idea of who a narcotics abuser is on
a political level, an idea that will be reproduced by the instances of society, such as
the health care or social services, that deal with narcotics-related problems. The
purpose of this essay was to investigate the stigma surrounding narcotics abuse that
former heavy users of narcotics may have experienced from their surroundings, and
the potential relationship conveyed between the users’ descriptions of stigma, their
self-image, and definition of the abuse problem. In this... (More)
"It’s not like I’ve lived on a park bench…" : About stigmas surrounding narcotics abuse

There are stigmas surrounding the abuse of narcotics that the members of society
share and uphold. The stigma is produced by the idea of who a narcotics abuser is on
a political level, an idea that will be reproduced by the instances of society, such as
the health care or social services, that deal with narcotics-related problems. The
purpose of this essay was to investigate the stigma surrounding narcotics abuse that
former heavy users of narcotics may have experienced from their surroundings, and
the potential relationship conveyed between the users’ descriptions of stigma, their
self-image, and definition of the abuse problem. In this qualitative study, semistructured
interviews were conducted with four individuals with a previous history of
heavy drug abuse. Their accounts of stigma strongly corresponded with the structural
idea of a narcotics abuser that is shared by the Swedish narcotics policy. Two of the
interviewees reported being met with these stigmas by social or health care services,
during and in one case after their time of abuse. The other two interviewees reported
that although they had been received well by these instances, it was more likely due to
their appearances and behaviour being socially correct, and that this would have
differed had they lived up to the idea, or stigma, of a narcotics abuser. It was also
prominent that all interviewees described a self-image during their time of abuse that
was close to the stigma surrounding a narcotics abuser’s character. Their selfdescriptions
had radically changed when asked about their character after the drug
abuse had terminated. Additionally, their definition of the abuse problem was of an
emotional nature, as opposed to previously reported definitions from social workers
focusing on the narcotics. These results somewhat relate to Erving Goffman’s (1963)
theories surrounding stigma, and indicate implications in the interaction between
society’s expectations of a narcotics abuser and how the abuser is either shaped by, or
contributes to shaping, the stigma surrounding narcotics use. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Elkouhen Morssy, Mona LU and Backström, Linn LU
supervisor
organization
course
SOPA63 20162
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
narcotics abuse, drug abuse, self-image, identity, stigma, treatment, user influence, narcotics policy
language
Swedish
id
8904490
date added to LUP
2017-03-13 16:57:19
date last changed
2017-03-13 16:57:19
@misc{8904490,
  abstract     = {{"It’s not like I’ve lived on a park bench…" : About stigmas surrounding narcotics abuse

There are stigmas surrounding the abuse of narcotics that the members of society
share and uphold. The stigma is produced by the idea of who a narcotics abuser is on
a political level, an idea that will be reproduced by the instances of society, such as
the health care or social services, that deal with narcotics-related problems. The
purpose of this essay was to investigate the stigma surrounding narcotics abuse that
former heavy users of narcotics may have experienced from their surroundings, and
the potential relationship conveyed between the users’ descriptions of stigma, their
self-image, and definition of the abuse problem. In this qualitative study, semistructured
interviews were conducted with four individuals with a previous history of
heavy drug abuse. Their accounts of stigma strongly corresponded with the structural
idea of a narcotics abuser that is shared by the Swedish narcotics policy. Two of the
interviewees reported being met with these stigmas by social or health care services,
during and in one case after their time of abuse. The other two interviewees reported
that although they had been received well by these instances, it was more likely due to
their appearances and behaviour being socially correct, and that this would have
differed had they lived up to the idea, or stigma, of a narcotics abuser. It was also
prominent that all interviewees described a self-image during their time of abuse that
was close to the stigma surrounding a narcotics abuser’s character. Their selfdescriptions
had radically changed when asked about their character after the drug
abuse had terminated. Additionally, their definition of the abuse problem was of an
emotional nature, as opposed to previously reported definitions from social workers
focusing on the narcotics. These results somewhat relate to Erving Goffman’s (1963)
theories surrounding stigma, and indicate implications in the interaction between
society’s expectations of a narcotics abuser and how the abuser is either shaped by, or
contributes to shaping, the stigma surrounding narcotics use.}},
  author       = {{Elkouhen Morssy, Mona and Backström, Linn}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{"Jag har inte bott på en parkbänk liksom..." : Om stigman kring narkotikamissbruk}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}