Avoiding stereotyping

What this means 

One member of the Leading The Lives We Want To Live group remembered a phrase a worker had used when talking of her daughter:

She doesn’t fit the model.

Experiences of hearing the phrase 'doesn't fit the model'?

In this video, Ann describes her experience of hearing the phrase 'doesn't fit the model':

What does Leading the Lives We Want to Live mean to you?

Martin Robertson talks about what 'leading the lives we want to live' means to him:

Avoiding stereotyping is about investing time, interest and reflection when getting to know people, otherwise stereotypes and assumptions can easily perpetuate or develop. While this is a systems issue – in making sure worker caseloads allow scope for this relationship-based work – it’s also the responsibility of individual workers to reflect on and address stereotyping within themselves, and challenge it where there they find it in the course of their work. This is linked to wider work in the social care field to support equity, diversity and inclusion. 

One set of assumptions that was discussed in the group at length were those made about family care, from assuming that family members would always continue to provide care, to the assumption that parents or family carers are the people best placed to provide care. One group member commented:

That’s not an independent or equal life, that’s a negotiated life.

We are all individuals; we all have different views and experiences. We need to be asked what kind of life we would like to live.

The research 

Stereotyping can be defined as ‘…generalisations about the personal attributes or characteristics of a group of people’ and many ‘have a long history and were created as a result of specific economic, political or social circumstances’ (Rosenthal & Overstreet, 2016). Stereotyping can lead to negative beliefs (prejudices) and discriminatory behaviour. Stereotyping can also operate in an intersectional way – where a person’s various social and political identities can combine to create a different stereotype. For example, a study by Petsko and Bodenhausen (2019) found that Black and ethnically minoritised gay men were seen as ‘less prototypical’ of their race, and assumed to be more affluent or of a higher socio-economic status than other men who shared their racial identity.  

Ageism (discrimination arising from a negative stereotype of ageing) can affect whether older patients receive treatment, as well as the duration, frequency and appropriateness of that treatment (Chang et al., 2020). Hagan and Campbell (2021) found that media stereotypes of people with dementia are often internalised by those who live with dementia, and believe themselves useless, with these stereotypes increasing anxiety and depression.  

What are some of the ways stereotypes about dementia operate?

In this clip, Martin talks about some of the stereotypes that exist around dementia, and how these can impact on people:

This may also be an issue for people with learning disabilities. The form of bias known as ‘diagnostic overshadowing’ is where a health or social care professional makes the assumption that the behaviour of a person with a learning disability is solely due to that learning disability, without exploring other factors (Hallyburton, 2022).  

A 2022 report, which surveyed both adult and children’s social workers, found that 31% of workers had witnessed racism being directed at adults or families who draw on social care by colleagues and managers more than once (Gurau & Bacchoo, 2022). In a study looking at the physical and mental health impacts of racism in the UK, adults who experience racism experience greater psychological distress, poorer mental functioning, poorer physical functioning, and lower life satisfaction (Hackett et al., 2020). 

Six assumptions that health and social care services can commonly make about family carers were identified by Williams et al. (2015). They are:  

1. Caregivers will be there, willing and able to step up. That for moral and ethical reasons, or because there are no alternatives, carers will take on an increasing responsibility for care. 
2. This is about older people. This erases the experiences of disabled working-age adults and those who care for them. 
3. Money alone will do the job. That providing more cash by itself enhances choice and reduces stress for carers. Instead, carers require an individualised mix of supports as well as adequate money. 
4. You can wait and see. That services can leave it to crisis point - that carers will ‘soldier on’ until then. Instead, early intervention could do much to ease carers’ stress, and lead to better planned support. Carers who don’t get early support are more likely to support hospital or care home placement for the person they care for. 
5. Leave it to the frontline professionals. Views about what carers can and can’t (and should, or shouldn’t) do can vary widely between different professionals. Leaving decisions about a carer’s eligibility for support only with frontline professionals risks inconsistency and discrimination. 
6. Address carers separately. The belief that a carer’s needs are distinct from those of the person they care for. While it’s important to treat carers as individuals, taking a family-based, holistic approach to the situation is more likely to provide a more accurate picture of how care and support operates in the home. 

There is also material about addressing stereotyping of carers within the More resources, better used key change section, when thinking about recognising and rewarding family and informal carers fairly.  

One of the most effective ways for practitioners to cut through possible issues of stereotyping is by utilising professional curiosity. Professional curiosity involves questioning and challenging the information practitioners receive, and not only identifying concerns but making connections to better understand someone’s situation (Thacker et al., 2020). Understanding and taking a mentalising approach – where practitioners reflect on the complex interplay of factors that may underpin people’s behaviour – is also important in addressing stereotyping (Raynes et al., 2016). 

What you can do 

For everyone: It is of critical importance that you think about how stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination can affect decision-making. For example, consider the six assumptions about carers, above. Do you see any of these operating, perhaps implicitly, in the work you do or within the processes of the organisation? 

Everyone has different experiences of power, privilege, discrimination and identity. Thinking about the research messages above, and using the exercises contained in the Social GGRRAAACCEEESSS tool, can help you reflect, and then plan, for action. 

Further information 

Watch  

A brief introduction to the Social GGRRAAACCEEESSS from Karen Partridge, Systemic Development Lead at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust.  

Use  

Although aimed at a children and families audience, there are many other resources on the Practice Supervisor Development Programme website that can be adapted for an adults’ social care audience, and which support developing equity, diversity and inclusion. There is an accompanying CPD Guide to using these resources in practice. 

Read  

Research in Practice has published several blogs on anti-racist and anti-discriminatory practice in adult social care, including thinking about the impact of racism.

Research in Practice has frontline tools on Professional curiosity and Taking a mentalising approach.