Alcohol-related problems and self-help groups: the situational construction of self-image

Abstract

The construction of self-image constitutes a process that accompanies the individual throughout the entire duration of their personal existence and is considerably influenced by the contexts in which the individual lives and grows. The existence of a stigma related to a form of behaviour, for example, in the case in question here, alcohol-related problems, emerges as a central element in the definition of self-image, both from the point of view of public opinion and private feelings. The aim of this study is to analyze whether and, if so, how the self-image of a person with alcohol-related problems changes, both in the public and private sphere, when they join the self-help group of the Club for Alcoholics in Treatment, i.e. when they begin to form part of a context that “labels” the condition the individual and their family unit find themselves in a different way.