Stigma and Social Welfare: An International Comparative Study (Welfare and Society)

The results of research carried out in the UK, Holland and Spain, this study assesses the impact upon child welfare services of perceptions of stigma associated with such services by providers and consumers. Funded by the European Commission and conducted in Wales, the Netherlands and Catalonia, the research undertaken aimed to assess the success or otherwise of present policies with respect to providing services in a non-stigmatizing way. These areas have been deliberately chosen for the study because they allow for a series of important comparisons. The Netherlands belongs to the group of social democratic regimes, the UK to liberal welfare states and Catalonia emerges from a corporatist tradition. Also, during the 1980s, the three countries experienced contrasting economic policies which produced an impact upon those most likely to be users of child welfare services. In the conclusion of the study, it emerged that the UK had the most developed services, Spain had the least developed and the Netherlands remained in an intermediate position. The results of the investigation have been analyzed for each individual country and in comparison with each other, in order to gain an insight into the ways in which perceptions of stigma are shaped by the history, culture and pattern of service provision in different places. The aim of this study has been to assess the relationship between the perception of stigma and a series of personal and environmental variables. Once discovering the findings, the study aims to provide written and practical guidance for child welfare policy makers and practitioners with the regard to the provision of non-stigmatizing family support services.