Self-injury, stigma, and identity: The Northern Ireland context

ABSTRACT

Self-injury research has been located primarily in the disciplines of psychiatry and psychology however it is gaining increasing recognition as an interdisciplinary field, ripe with potential for sociological and psychosocial analysis. In this article, I revisit Goffman’s theory to explore retrospectively the dynamic nature of stigma and identity for people affected by self-injury in the socio-political context of Northern Ireland. Drawing on 30 in-depth interviews with people reporting a history of self-injury and practitioners in community roles who provide support to people that self-injure, I sought to understand their perspectives on the moral career of people who self-injure. This article provides insight into participants’ experiences of three intersecting phases in the lives of those who self-injure: engaging in self-injury; help-seeking interactions; and, recovery. I propose that developing critical understanding of social theory is paramount for self-injury interventions in practice, research, and policy.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Dr Noreen Giffney of Ulster University for her proofreading and constructive feedback on a previous version of this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Maggie Long

Dr Maggie Long is a lecturer in counseling at Ulster University, and currently Course Director for the BSc Communication and Counseling Studies. Maggie has a PhD in Sociology and Social Studies (Ulster University), a Master’s in Counseling and Therapeutic Communication (Ulster University), and a BA Honors in English Literature and Sociology (Trinity College Dublin).