"Watch out for the boogieman": stigma and substance use recovery among migrants and ethnic minorities.

People with a migration background and ethnic minorities (MEM) with substance use problems are confronted with stigma due to their ethnicity and substance use. This study explores how living with multiple stigmatized identities impacts substance use recovery among MEM. We conducted 34 in‐depth interviews with a diverse sample of MEM with substance use problems in Flanders, Belgium. A Qualitative Content Analysis using Earnshaw's stigma framework revealed that their recovery processes are challenged by accumulated stigma based on different intersectional statuses, namely ethnicity, substance use, psychological problems, criminal histories, poverty, unemployment and gender. These stigmas can negatively influence their well‐being, increase problem substance use and act as a barrier to recovery capital. While stigma moderators, which determine how stigma unfolds within society, were spread across the micro‐to‐macro continuum (from personal to social, community and macro‐cultural features), mediators that influence the role of stigma in recovery were mainly psychosocial. Hence, prevention and intervention strategies should be aimed at reducing stigma on the macro, meso and micro level, while individuals and communities can limit the impact of public stigma on recovery through constructive personal and collective coping and action mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]