Stigma Culture and Abusers Narratives of Gradual Acceptance of Addict Stigma

The perception of "addict" is neither a natural phenomenon nor pure reality that have one meaning in all societies and cultures but a stigma on individuals by the mechanisms of society. The main purpose of this research is a critical thought over social construction of "addict" perception, that how some people by some complex mechanisms, stigmatized as an addict in society and gradually accept the results of this new self-perception in their individual and social lives. On the other hand, the aim of this survey is critical study of the formation of stigma culture. So we analyze the formation mechanisms of addict stigma in subculture of drug abusers. This research, relying on stigmatization theory, attempts to explain the ways in which the culture of stigmatization is socially constructed. The cases of study are selected by way of snowball sampling and are interviewed individually. The method is narrative analysis and the narrations of the subjects have been interpreted through thematic analysis. The findings show that mechanisms such as "social divergence", "self-degradation", "self-alienation", social exclusion", "negative self-identification" and negative person-hood are among the main factors of constructing the culture of stigmatization and image of addiction by drug-abusers. Gradual acceptance of addict stigma results from discontinuity of the individual from society and joining the subculture of drug abusers. Individual exclusion and joining this subculture will lead to their self-deterioration and character-emptiness of previous images and meanings. So, stigma culture forms from a gap between the dominant culture and joining the the opposite subculture.