Social Work and Disadvantage: Addressing the Roots of Stigma Through Association

About the Book

This book is a guide to understanding the important issue of stigma - 'associated disadvantage' - which affects not only those who are excluded from society, but also family members and friends.

Social Work and Disadvantage explains the impact of stigmatization on siblings, families and workers in the caring professions and its consequences for the people it affects and for society as a whole. Contributors provide evidence from research and professional practice on transferability of health and social problems in, for example, dementia care patients, drug users and looked after children. Providing key messages for practice, they outline a range of protection measures to reduce the risk of stigma and victimization.

Social Work and Disadvantage provides valuable advice and guidance for social work and health care practitioners, educators and students.

Table of Contents:
Introduction. Peter Burke, Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Work, University of Hull, and Jonathan Parker, Professor of Social Work, Bournemouth University. 1. Disadvantage and Stigma: A Theoretical Framework for Associated Conditions. Peter Burke, Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Work, University of Hull. 2. Looked After Children, their Parents, Disadvantage and Stigma. Catherine Deverell, Lecturer in Social Work, University of Hull. 3. Childhood Disabilities and Disadvantage: Family Experiences. Peter Burke, Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Work, University of Hull, and Benedict Fell, Lecturer in Social Work, University of Hull. 4. A Drug User in the Family: Between Need, Dependency and Desire. Philip Guy, Lecturer in Addictions, University of Hull. 5. HIV/AIDS: Challenging Stigma by Association. Liz Walker, Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Work, University of Hull. 6. Ageing against the Grain: Gay Men and Lesbians. Elizabeth Price, Lecturer in Social Work, University of Hull. 7. Constructing Dementia and Dementia Care: Disadvantage and Daily Practices in a Day Care Setting. Jonathan Parker, Professor of Social Work, Bournemouth University. 8. Living with Chronic Illness: The Example of Parkinson's Disease. Margaret Holloway, Professor of Social Work, University of Hull. 9. Social Work, Disadvantage by Association and Anti-Oppressive Practice. Jonathan Parker, Professor of Social Work, Bournemouth University. 10. Disadvantage as an Associative Concept, Reflections and Some Further Considerations. Peter Burke, Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Work, University of Hull. The Contributors. Index.

About the Author :
Peter Burke is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Hull University. His research and teaching interests concern the needs of families, children with disabilities and their siblings.

Review :
This book stands as an important addition to knowledge and reflection on ethical social work practice. The collection provides a good balance between research evidence and theoretical reflection. It shows up spaces that will hopefully inspire future research and reflective work to articulate disadvantage by association in greater detail. It also raises the question about creating space for inclusion of the concepts of disadvantage and stigma by association in social work assessment and practice. This is a very enjoyable, readable and theoretically sound book whose scope goes beyond social work. I recommended it to anyone involved in the delivery of health and social care, whether that person is a practitioner or an academic. It contains a wealth of information and much that is extremely thought-provoking. As one who has more than once urged colleagues to be more aware of the socio-political aspects of our work with vulnerable people, I would commend it. Particularly interesting was the chapter focusing on how stigma affects children in care. It was pleasing to discover that it covered a breadth of groups who are discriminated against, including drug users, and people living with HIV and Aids... This book would be best used in social care education, as it offers a chance to think about why individuals work in social care and how negative attitudes may impact on the very people we are meant to be serving. This book is intended for social workers and students of the subject, but really would be beneficial for anyone in the caring professions. Social work and disadvantage is both educative and enlightening. The level of sensitivity needed, combined with a dogged determination to continue improving the service, is impressive. A useful read for therapists. This is a very strong collection, highly relevant to social work education practice with both adults and children. Unusually for an edited collection, the quality of individual contributions is consistently high, and each chapter relates directly to the book's central theme. Recommended.