Negotiating belonging and identity across the life course: A qualitative study using Social Identity Mapping with people with psychosis

Social Identity Mapping interviews with 28 people with psychosis identified four life-course themes showing social identity conflict before, disruption during, and recovery-linked identification after psychosis.

• Why it matters: The study addresses a gap in understanding how people with psychosis experience group belonging and identity changes across the life course, despite links between social identities and wellbeing.
• What they did: Using Social Identity Mapping to structure semi-structured interviews (n = 28), the team conducted thematic analysis to generate four specific themes about belonging and identification before, during, and after psychosis.
• The result: The SIM-supported approach uncovered new insights that social identification may be protective, motivating evaluation of social identity-strengthening interventions to improve quality of life and social functioning.