Unveiling The Layers of Stigma: An in-Depth Study on Affiliate Stigma and Life Satisfaction Amongst Caregivers and Teachers of Special Needs Children in Shillong, Meghalaya

Background: This study explores the multidimensional nature and prevalence of affiliate stigma and how it plays a role in the life satisfaction of caregivers and teachers of children with special needs. Affiliate stigma, or internalized stigma experienced by people associated with stigmatized groups, has serious consequences for the well-being of those who care for and teach special needs children. Despite its relevance, affiliate stigma remains unexplored in educational and caregiving settings. Method: A mixed-method method approach was opted for the research study in which the ‘Satisfaction with Life Scale’ was used for the quantitative component which assesses the global cognitive judgement of one’s life satisfaction of fifty-four respondents from Nongthymmai locality, Bethany Society Shillong, Dwar Jingkyrmen Inclusive School and through ‘Google Form’ which is an online platform. On the other hand, for the qualitative aspect, a semi-structured interview questionnaire was utilized on twelve respondents from Nongthymmai locality and Bethany Society Shillong, for understanding and diving into the nature and prevalence of affiliate stigma. Results: The qualitative findings of the study show that, the prevalence of affiliate stigma ranges between ‘Mild’ to ‘Moderate’ where three out of the twelve respondents, have in fact encountered affiliate stigma and interestingly the rest of the nine respondents have reported of not experiencing any affiliate stigma throughout their period of either being a caregiver or a teacher for the special needs children. Conversely, the quantitative findings of the study using the ‘Satisfaction with Life Scale’ show that, 25% are ‘Extremely Satisfied’, 33.3% are ‘Satisfied’, 27.1% are ‘Slightly Satisfied’, 4.2% are Neutral, 10.4% are ‘Slightly Dissatisfied’ and none were either ‘Dissatisfied’ or ‘Extremely Dissatisfied’, this suggests a generally positive life satisfaction among the caregivers and teachers of the special needs children in Shillong, Meghalaya.