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

Abstract

This book is a collection of articles applying the social science tradition of analysis in terms of stigmatization to the social situation of users of psychoactive substances. The introductory chapter by the editors gives an overview of the development of research using the stigma concept since its introduction in sociology in the 1960s, and the use of the concept, mostly since 2000, in research on alcohol and other drugs. The heart of the book consists of 10 conceptual or empirical papers, mainly by British social scientists, on aspects of stigma in various populations and for diverse drugs. The editors have arranged the papers in three topical categories: mechanisms of stigma and identity formation; social inequality, health and crime as factors in stigmatization; and normalization, negotiation and refusal as responses to stigmatization. The editors' final chapter considers some implications for research, policy and practice.A substantial tradition of thinking in recent years has added a greater emphasis on stigmatization as a form of control and exercise of power to the earlier analyses of stigma as a negative social framing of behaviour and of strategies of response for a stigmatized person (e.g. [1,2]). The book applies this perspective-including more attention to stigma as an expression of political power-to alcohol and other drugs. Thus, for instance, the chapter by Ayers & Taylor [3] interprets the 'drug apartheid' of differential legalization of psychoactive substances in terms of stigmatization 'being determined-in both form and application-by a neoliberal era of consumer capitalism, which sees engagement with consumer markets and the consumption of goods mediating all aspects of social life'.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. The parents' drug use is often a taboo topic within the family and hidden from others, as others' knowledge of it results in prejudice from teachers and health and social service workers, and impacts upon the children's ability to develop social relationships [6].The book usefully pulls together a range of current perspectives and findings on the application and handling of stigma in connection with use of alcohol and other drugs, drawing upon more general developments in thinking about stigma. The perspectives and findings in it hold implications for further rese...