Social Defeat or Social Resistance? Reaction to Fear of Crime and Violence Among People with Severe Mental Illness Living in Urban ‘Recovery Communities’

Abstract

This article is propelled by recent theory positing that 'social defeat' is a common experience for people with severe mental illness, potentially affecting course and outcome. The primary objective is to investigate how far fear of crime and violence contributes toward 'social defeat' among people with mental illness. This is done through examining 6years of ethnographic data collected from a sample of urban-dwelling people with severe mental illness, all securely-housed in apartments located in small scale "recovery communities." Findings suggest that many participants living in the highest crime neighborhoods report that they deliberately restrict their temporal and spatial movement as a consequence of such crime. This hinders aspects of their recovery. Nevertheless, participants actively confront the nefarious affects of neighborhood crime by engaging in various empowering strategies of resistance. These include confronting disruptive people, fortifying homes, moving around the neighborhood in small groups and carrying objects such as umbrellas and canes that can be used in self-defense. Some reported that fear of crime directly contributed to the development of a rich and gratifying domestic life, centered on hospitality and religion. I conclude that participants partake in valiant and durable "social resistance," and may better be perceived as imaginative and resourceful resistors, rather than passive victims of "social defeat." An influential factor fostering such resistance is the "recovery community' itself, which creates secure and reliable housing within a micro-community in which participants could thrive.