# 7 The negative impact of labelling

The way we see ourselves, self-identity and the ways that identity can be ascribed to us by other people, are rarely separate from each other. They interact and affect each other. In other words, our views of ourselves are necessarily formed by how we think that other people see/view/judge us.

Think back to the educational psychologist’s report on Lemn Sissay which you read earlier in this session. The report identified how Lemn was fighting to establish and maintain his self-identity despite the care system having given him a very negative ascribed identity. Lemn refused to cooperate with psychological testing as he feared the results would be used to reinforce negative views about him. Lemn saw himself as an intelligent, creative, Black young man, capable of making his own decisions and taking control of his life. He was fighting against the ascribed identity of a troubled ‘coloured’ youth who posed a risk of, as a minimum, being disruptive and, at worst, of offending. He was not seen as being capable of making rational, informed choices about his life, and his refusal to cooperate was perceived as evidence of being a troublemaker.

Elsewhere in My name is Why, Lemn describes the dehumanising institutionalisation and abuse he experienced in care, which were not uncommon at the time. For example, stripping people of their individual characteristics by dressing them in an institution’s uniform and treating them all the same: these are powerful assaults on an individual’s identity, and even more so on a child’s. Residential care, like all living environments, can be a powerful influence in determining residents’ identities, for good or ill.

These processes were vividly described by Goffman in another classic study, Asylums (1968), in which he analysed the implications for identity of ‘total institutions’ – such as psychiatric hospitals, prisons and other residential institutions to which people are compulsorily admitted – which provide an all-encompassing world for inmates, forming a barrier between them and outside society:

> The recruit comes into the establishment with a conception of himself made possible by certain stable social arrangements in his home world. Upon entrance, he is immediately stripped of the support provided by these arrangements ... he begins a series of abasements, degradations, humiliations and profanations of self. His self is systematically, if often unintentionally, mortified. He begins some radical shifts in his moral career, a career composed of the progressive changes that occur in the beliefs that he has concerning himself and significant others.

(Goffman, 1968, p. 24)

The impact of stereotyping, labelling and stigma can have a long-term impact on mental health. In social care and social work, trying to understand individual identities can be painful and challenging when the experiences that contribute to workers’ own identity involve prejudice and discrimination. Everything involved with social care and social work roles are about people. Being aware not only of difference but also of the impact of power and discrimination on people’s lives are key components of practice.

OpenLearn - Introducing social care and social work
Except for third party materials and otherwise, this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence, full copyright detail can be found in the acknowledgements section. Please see full copyright statement for details.