RESILIENCE AS A WAY OF RESISTING SOCIAL EXCLUSION: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CASE STUDIES

The stigmatisation of some marginalised groups is a common, cross-cutting form of social exclusion. However, just as there are some common forms of exclusion among discriminated groups, certain strategies of resilience in the face of social exclusion are also shared by different groups within their various social contexts. This paper is based on a comparative analysis of three case studies of individuals who have experienced processes of resilience when faced with stigmatisation and social exclusion. One is a person who emigrated from an impoverished country to Spain; another, a person with an intellectual disability; and the third is a person of gypsy origin living in a marginalised neighbourhood. In the first phase, in-depth interviews and focus groups were used to collect data for each of the three case studies. The data from each of them were then analysed by using their own emerging system of categories. In the second phase, common categories within all three case studies were identified. This was effected by using a similarity-based comparative analysis of cases. We were therefore able to see that there were some categories common to the three case studies, namely stigmatism and dehumanisation; suffering and pain as driving forces behind the struggle; resilience and empowerment, and socio-educational help. These shape what we term resilient dynamics or processes generated by people and their environments, and provide interesting synergies and resistance to social exclusion.