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Navigating between spaces: faith-based stigma among South Asian and Muslim carers of individuals with problematic drug and alcohol use

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Hayley AldersonORCiD, Professor Ruth McGovernORCiD, William Mcgovern

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

© Authors 2026. Despite growing recognition of drug and alcohol (D&A) use as a public health concern, carers from South Asian and Muslim (SAM) communities in the UK remain largely invisible. This article explores how stigma, emotional pressures and faith-based prohibitions shape SAM carers’ experiences of supporting individuals with problematic D&A use, with a culturally informed approach. A qualitative study recruited eight carers, two practitioners and two community ambassadors in two UK regions during July 2023–January 2024. Carers supported individuals whose substance use they identified as problematic, describing patterns consistent with the classification of mental and behavioural disorders in the tenth version of the International Classification of Diseases, though formal verification was not obtained, as this would have excluded ‘hidden carers’. Recognising that SAM frameworks define any use as problematic (lower thresholds than clinical criteria), we used reflexive, community-led sampling. Semi-structured interviews with participatory research group members identified three themes: faith, stigma and silence; social and psychological impacts on SAM families; and religious and cultural barriers to addressing D&A use. Most carers rely on informal networks for support due to a lack of awareness of mainstream services and religious institutions not equipped to address their needs relating to problematic D&A use.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Sattar Z, Shrimpton L, Alderson H, Sahito A, McGovern R, McGovern W

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Global Discourse

Year: 2026

Volume: 16

Issue: 2

Pages: 149-169

Print publication date: 01/05/2026

Online publication date: 12/01/2026

Acceptance date: 27/11/2025

Date deposited: 15/06/2026

ISSN (print): 2326-9995

ISSN (electronic): 2043-7897

Publisher: Bristol University Press

URL: https://doi.org/10.1332/20437897Y2025D000000085

DOI: 10.1332/20437897Y2025D000000085

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