K. Garthwaite
Becoming incapacitated? Long-term sickness benefit recipients and the construction of stigma and identity narratives
Garthwaite, K.
Authors
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 | Mar 29, 2024 |
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.
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