Becoming incapacitated? Long-term sickness benefit recipients and the construction of stigma and identity narratives

Garthwaite, K.

doi:10.1111/1467-9566.12168

Becoming incapacitated? Long-term sickness benefit recipients and the construction of stigma and identity narratives

Garthwaite, K.

Authors

K. Garthwaite

Abstract

The transition to becoming ‘incapacitated’ and receiving sickness benefits represents a significant shift in an individual's narrative. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 25 long-term sickness benefits recipients in North-East England, this article focuses upon how individuals perceived and managed becoming ‘incapacitated’, particularly in relation to stigma and identity. The findings show that participants negotiated changes to their identity in varying ways – constructing new dimensions of self, validating their illness and pursuing aspirations. Importantly, the transition onto sickness benefits does not inevitably result in a shift to a negative identity. The term incapacity can include many realities, challenging the notion of sickness benefit recipients as being passively dependent. Instead, an active, sometimes very functional sense of self can be accompanied by a positive identity for recipients, which is especially important, in a context of the rhetoric surrounding ongoing welfare reform and sickness benefits recipients in the UK.

Citation

Garthwaite, K. (2015). Becoming incapacitated? Long-term sickness benefit recipients and the construction of stigma and identity narratives. Sociology of Health & Illness, 37(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.12168

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Jan 1, 2015
Deposit Date	Feb 16, 2015
Publicly Available Date	Dec 19, 2016
Journal	Sociology of Health & Illness
Print ISSN	0141-9889
Electronic ISSN	1467-9566
Publisher	Wiley
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	37
Issue	1
Pages	1-13
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.12168
Keywords	Narrative, Sickness benefits, Identity, Stigma, Welfare reform.

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Copyright Statement
This is the accepted version of the following article: Garthwaite, K. (2015), Becoming incapacitated? Long-term sickness benefit recipients and the construction of stigma and identity narratives. Sociology of Health & Illness, 37 (1): 1-13, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.12168. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.