Shame and recognition: Social work practice with vulnerable young people

Abstract

Drawing on the findings from a longitudinal study of vulnerable young people's transitions to adulthood, this paper explores the ideas of shame and recognition. The young people, aged between 12 and 17 years at the first interview, had experienced chronic exposure to adversity from an early age (abuse, violence, mental health issues, addictions, and expulsion from school). They were clients of statutory and non-governmental services: child welfare, juvenile justice, remedial education, and mental health services. This paper draws on the qualitative phase of the study (n = 107); young people and a trusted other, nominated by the young person, participated in three annual qualitative interviews. Interviews focused on young people's experiences of services, key transitions, their relationships, and the strategies they used to locate support and resources. Experiences of shame, misrecognition, and seeking recognition emerged as dominant themes in the young people's accounts, and these are explored in this paper. The paper concludes with a discussion on responsive social work interventions that generate a deeper understanding of young people's experiences of shame and misrecognition. Central to this practice are critical and relational social work practices that actively support young people to achieve recognition.

Children’s agency when experiencing family-related adversities: The negotiation of closeness and distance in children’s personal narratives

“…Power comes in many forms (Johnstone and Boyle, 2018) and the present study suggests that when adults use their power to coerce children, to position the child as a problem bearer, or to withhold recognition, children may handle the situation by turning away from it. Munford and Sanders (2020) draw on Honneth (1995) to describe the experience of misrecognition as experiences of disrespect, lack of love and care and not having one’s voice heard or valued. In other words, encountering acts of misrecognition seems to challenge children’s fundamental sense of human value.…”

“…Nonetheless, there is strong evidence that the experience of childhood family-related adversities is connected to negative consequences in children’s lives, in the here-and-now as well as in the future (see, e.g., Dam and Hall, 2016; Spratt, 2012; Tinnfält et al, 2011). Qualitative research with children as informants has contributed knowledge on children’s understanding of their situation (Trondsen, 2012), children’s strategies for handling their situation (Dam and Hall, 2016; Överlien, 2017), children’s views on disclosure (Tinnfält et al, 2011) and social support (Munford and Sanders, 2020). Munford and Sanders (2020: 53–54) show that young people who have experienced adversity from an early age describe many experiences of misrecognition , such as experiences of being ignored, judged, disrespected, and treated as unworthy, within key domains of their everyday lives.…”

“…The concept of a “family secret” encircles the fact that family-related adversities are often kept hidden and uncommunicated, both within the family and in relation to the surrounding context. Keeping quiet can also be a strategy that children themselves use to relieve feelings of shame and unworthiness (Munford and Sanders, 2020). Hence, many children in difficult life situations never come into contact with the social services (Archard and Skivenes, 2009; Heimer et al, 2018) and there is a risk that they do not get the support and protection they need.…”

Beyond fear of child welfare services : An ethnographic study among Norwegian-Somali parents

“…In other words, esteem is particularly important for the moral development of society, as it enhances the concept that every individual should be viewed as valuable in society. While Honneth notes that every individual might not realistically be equally "esteemed", he also highlights that no individual should be disrespected as a result of their identity (Frost,2016Mendonça, 2011Munford & Sanders, 2020. Honneth's (1995 framework is fruitful for the reason that it allows for a critical investigation that highlights the basic premise for a social life in which every individual always struggles for recognition from other people.…”

Negotiating master narratives: The practice of ‘counterstorying’ in children's personal narratives about family‐related adversities

“…Previous child‐centred research has generated important knowledge about children's perspectives on their situation when experiencing family‐related adversities. It points out responsibility, guilt, shame, fear of stigma and powerlessness as profoundly central themes in many children's lives (see, e.g., Phillips & Gates, 2011; Munford & Sanders, 2020; Nesmith & Ruhland, 2008; Tinnfält et al, 2011; Trondsen, 2012). All these themes could, arguably, be understood in relation to cultural ideas about children's identity and agency.…”