“I’ve always felt like I’m on the outside”: identity and social inclusion among young adults with mental illness and complex needs – a qualitative study
Purpose Addressing social inclusion often involves objective measures and means related to work, education, housing and economy. However, important subjective factors, such as the relationship between identity on social inclusion among young adults with mental illness and complex needs, are understu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2024.2433320 |
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| _version_ | 1846124668128329728 |
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| author | Silje Nord-Baade Ottar Ness Michael Rowe Camilla Bergsve Jensen Anne Landheim |
| author_facet | Silje Nord-Baade Ottar Ness Michael Rowe Camilla Bergsve Jensen Anne Landheim |
| author_sort | Silje Nord-Baade |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose Addressing social inclusion often involves objective measures and means related to work, education, housing and economy. However, important subjective factors, such as the relationship between identity on social inclusion among young adults with mental illness and complex needs, are understudied. The study objective is to explore how young adults with mental illness and complex needs experience their identity in relation to social inclusion. Materials and methods The study adopted a qualitative, explorative, and participatory design. Seven young adults (three males/four females, aged 22–29) were recruited though Flexible Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) Teams, and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Reflexive thematic analysis was employed in the analysis. Results The analysis resulted in two main themes. Theme one, “Who they are”, included three subthemes: “A lifelong sense of being someone on the outside”, “Feeling different from others”, and “Someone who is worthless and doesn’t matter”. Theme two, “Who they want to be”, included two subthemes “Wanting to be someone else”, and “The need to redefine oneself”. Conclusions This study underlines the importance of working systematically on subjective aspects such as identity, in addition to objective measures, to address social exclusion in a vulnerable and marginalized group. Future directions for research and the development of a more tangible and holistic approach to promote social inclusion are suggested. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-96edeab6e1584d01a43cf7a5efcc6f23 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1748-2623 1748-2631 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being |
| spelling | doaj-art-96edeab6e1584d01a43cf7a5efcc6f232024-12-13T15:19:03ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being1748-26231748-26312025-12-0120110.1080/17482631.2024.24333202433320“I’ve always felt like I’m on the outside”: identity and social inclusion among young adults with mental illness and complex needs – a qualitative studySilje Nord-Baade0Ottar Ness1Michael Rowe2Camilla Bergsve Jensen3Anne Landheim4Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Concurrent Substance Abuse and Mental Health DisordersNorwegian University of Science and TechnologyUniversity of Inland NorwayNorwegian National Advisory Unit on Concurrent Substance Abuse and Mental Health DisordersNorwegian National Advisory Unit on Concurrent Substance Abuse and Mental Health DisordersPurpose Addressing social inclusion often involves objective measures and means related to work, education, housing and economy. However, important subjective factors, such as the relationship between identity on social inclusion among young adults with mental illness and complex needs, are understudied. The study objective is to explore how young adults with mental illness and complex needs experience their identity in relation to social inclusion. Materials and methods The study adopted a qualitative, explorative, and participatory design. Seven young adults (three males/four females, aged 22–29) were recruited though Flexible Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) Teams, and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Reflexive thematic analysis was employed in the analysis. Results The analysis resulted in two main themes. Theme one, “Who they are”, included three subthemes: “A lifelong sense of being someone on the outside”, “Feeling different from others”, and “Someone who is worthless and doesn’t matter”. Theme two, “Who they want to be”, included two subthemes “Wanting to be someone else”, and “The need to redefine oneself”. Conclusions This study underlines the importance of working systematically on subjective aspects such as identity, in addition to objective measures, to address social exclusion in a vulnerable and marginalized group. Future directions for research and the development of a more tangible and holistic approach to promote social inclusion are suggested.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2024.2433320flexible assertive community treatmentidentitymental healthsocial exclusionsocial inclusionsubstance usequalitative studyyoung adults |
| spellingShingle | Silje Nord-Baade Ottar Ness Michael Rowe Camilla Bergsve Jensen Anne Landheim “I’ve always felt like I’m on the outside”: identity and social inclusion among young adults with mental illness and complex needs – a qualitative study International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being flexible assertive community treatment identity mental health social exclusion social inclusion substance use qualitative study young adults |
| title | “I’ve always felt like I’m on the outside”: identity and social inclusion among young adults with mental illness and complex needs – a qualitative study |
| title_full | “I’ve always felt like I’m on the outside”: identity and social inclusion among young adults with mental illness and complex needs – a qualitative study |
| title_fullStr | “I’ve always felt like I’m on the outside”: identity and social inclusion among young adults with mental illness and complex needs – a qualitative study |
| title_full_unstemmed | “I’ve always felt like I’m on the outside”: identity and social inclusion among young adults with mental illness and complex needs – a qualitative study |
| title_short | “I’ve always felt like I’m on the outside”: identity and social inclusion among young adults with mental illness and complex needs – a qualitative study |
| title_sort | i ve always felt like i m on the outside identity and social inclusion among young adults with mental illness and complex needs a qualitative study |
| topic | flexible assertive community treatment identity mental health social exclusion social inclusion substance use qualitative study young adults |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2024.2433320 |
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