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This study analyzes the experiences of stigmatization and emotion work through the interview responses of eight parents of children with autism. Developing from Goffman’s theories of direct stigma and associative stigma this research integrates Hochschild’s emotion work as a way that parents respond to the stigmatization that they encounter. The results of this study indicate that some parents of children with autism perform suppressive emotion work in the way they respond to stigmatization and obstacles that occur when raising a child with special needs. In addition, stigma occurs in interactions with close friends and family members, creating issues of boundary-crossing. Parents of children with autism respond to stigma by educating those closest to them and normalizing the experiences of themselves and their child. In order to cope with the hardships of stigma, some parents also work to advocate, problem-solve, and build community beyond their immediate relationships.

Researchers raise concerns that the diagnostic approach can create stigma and lead to clinical inferences that focus on dispositional characteristics at the expense of situational variables. From social cognitive theory to strict behavioral approaches there is broad agreement that situation is at least as important as disposition. The present study examined the clinical inferences of graduate student clinicians randomly presented a diagnosis (borderline PD) or no diagnosis and either randomly given context information or no context information before watching a videotaped clinical interaction of a fabricated client. Responses to a questionnaire assessing dispositional or situational attributions about the client’s behavior indicated a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder did not significantly increase dispositional attributions and did not significantly moderate the importance of contextual factors. A notable difference between the attributions made by psychodynamic and third wave behavioral respondents was observed. Conceptual and experimental limitations as well as future directions are discussed.

This project presents findings from an analysis of qualitative interviews by the J20 Defendants, who were arrested, detained, and charged for rioting Donald J. Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2017. This project examines the identity management strategies and experiences of the J20 Defendants as individual members and as a larger collective, with specific focus on how their mental and emotional health impacts their perception of self. In addition, this project uses Fantasy Theme Analysis (FTA) to identify organizational norms and communicative practices within the J20 collective. Time and space impact collective interpretations, meanings, and values, which influence group consciousness (Bormann, 1985; Bormann, Cragan, & Shields, 1994). To understand the defendants’ symbolic world, I describe in Chapter 1 what happened on January 20, 2017. I explain, in chronological order, how the J20 Defendants were detained, their collective experience while in police custody, and the court proceedings.Attending Disrupt J20 was a collective experience, Weick (1979) explains that shared interpretations among members grant organizations the ability to exist beyond, or even without, physical or systematic structures. Chapter 2 defines the J20 Defendants as an organization through the Four Flows Models, a school of thought within Communicative Constitution of Organization (CCO). The J20 Defendants are anunusual organization due to forced membership; the prosecution labels their identities. However, they made sense of their forced membership by utilizing the four processes within the Four Flows Model: (1) membership negotiation, (2) self-structuring, (3) activity coordination, and (4) institutional positioning. This project also defines the J20 Defendants as a stigmatized organization through the theoretical concepts of event and core stigma, which are defined in Chapter 2. The defendants managed their stigma through various identity management strategies, which are highlighted in Chapter 4. Findings suggest the defendants did not value the viewpoint of mainstream society, which is why they attended the stigmatizing event Disrupt J20. However, they did value the opinions of other activists.Despite having similar beliefs and values, the defendants each navigated their stigma differently. Furthermore, the ways the defendants managed stigma did not align with strategies articulated in organizational communication literature. However, every interviewee made sense of their stigma based on their ability to maintain confidentially. This project notes three organizational obstacles: (1) managing the stress and anxiety of being a member, (2) communicating internally, (3) externally performing a clear collective identity. Through various forms of comradery, members were able to manage their stress and anxiety as J20 Defendants. Members were also viewed as autonomous agents in how active or inactive they wanted to be. Every defendant interviewed stepped away from the organizational core temporarily or permanently. Overall, I hope this project illuminates new information about stigmatized organizations that seek cultural and political change.

This study explored stigma associated with mental illness among Indonesian adults living in Indonesia. It investigated how mentally ill adults (both mentally ill patients and mental health nurses) perceive mental illness and how they respond to stigmatization on a daily basis. Given the current state of knowledge with regards to the meaning and process of stigma and mental illness among adults in Indonesia, a constructivist grounded theory was considered to be the method of choice for this study. We recruited 15 nurses and 15 patients to participate in the study; all from a psychiatric hospital in Indonesia. Data collection methods involved semi-structured interviews with the 30 participants as well as mute evidence, field notes and memos. Data analysis occurred over a period of six months. In keeping with the basic principles of a grounded theory method (Charmaz, 2006) as well as Paillé’s (1994) structure for data analysis which are congruent with Charmaz’s principles and include stages of codification, categorization, linking categories, integration, conceptualization, and theorization, 5 discrete but interrelated categories were produced: 1) treatment of mental illness; 2) violence; 3) fear; 4) constructing cursed citizens; and 5) stigmatization. Research results show that the experience of stigma for mentally ill patients in Indonesia is pervasive and impedes mental health services utilization. The stigmatization of mental illness is manifested by family members, members of the community, mental health professionals and staff, and also by governmental institutions and the media. Stigmatization is characterized by violence, fear, exclusion, isolation, rejection, blame, discrimination, and devaluation. Moreover, because of their (mis)understanding of mental illness, patients and families turn to alternative treatments provided by non-professionals (shamans, Islamic leaders, paranormals and traditional Chinese medicine); these individuals play a central role in supporting and offering solutions for someone suffering from a mental illness. In Indonesia, stigma affects mentally ill individuals at many levels. Until stigma associated with mental illness is addressed nationwide, those suffering from mental illness will continue to suffer and be prevented from accessing mental health services. As the results of this study have shown, patients seeking treatment experience violence and fear. Families and their mentally ill relatives have been expelled by their community, or have simply disappeared. Both physical and psychological abuse and humiliation have led to patients being avoided, rejected, and neglected, and thus isolated, hidden, or abandoned to the streets. There is a pressing need to combat mental illness stereotypes in Indonesia and health professionals, namely nurses, government agencies as well as the media must play a pivotal role in this process.

Denna studie fokuserar på kvinnors upplevelser av att leva med diagnosen ADHD. Tidigare forskning har visat att flickor och kvinnor med ADHD ofta har dolda symtom som gör att de blir förbisedda och utan diagnos under en längre tid, som i sin tur leder till en rad konsekvenser. Fortsättningsvis visar tidigare forskning att det inte forskats om flickor och kvinnor med ADHD i samma omfattning som pojkar och män. Syftet med studien är således att lyssna till kvinnors upplevelser av att leva med diagnosen, särskilt till upplevelser av bemötande i relation till diagnosen under skoltiden och arbetslivet och vilken betydelse det har fått i deras liv. Ytterligare en aspekt som studeras är kvinnors upplevelser av att leva med diagnosen ADHD i relation till kvinnliga könsnormer. Den insamlade empirin består av kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med tio kvinnliga informanter mellan åldrarna 19–42 år. Materialet analyseras med hjälp av delar av Erving Goffmans stigmateori och Judith Butlers genusteori. Resultatet visar att vad gäller bemötande under skoltiden har kvinnorna blivit bemötta, icke-bemötta eller aktivt icke-bemötta i relation till sin diagnos. Betydelsen av att inte blivit bemött har bland annat resulterat i svårigheter med att klara av studier och i dålig självkänsla. Resultaten visar också att tidigare erfarenheter av bemötande för ens ADHD på arbetsplatser påverkat hur man ställer sig till att berätta om sin diagnos för andra. Studiens resultat har även visat att kärnsymtomen för ADHD utmanat de kvinnliga könsnormerna. Flera upplever symtomförändringar i vuxen ålder, detta har diskuterats som ett möjligt utfall av en könad socialiseringsprocess, “mognadsprocess” eller medicinering. Att vara kvinna med ADHD har också inneburit att de länge varit förbisedda, detta gäller både de som agerat i enlighet med de förväntade könsnormerna såväl som de som haft “vanliga” ADHD-symtom.

What makes a person disabled is a much-debated topic with some focusing on the individuals impairments (putting the onus of disability on the individual) while others focus on how the environment (both architectural and social) exacerbates an individual’s impairments and creates the conceptualization of disability (putting the onus of disability on society). No matter how a person with a disability (PWD) is categorized, they are met with healthcare, education, and work disparities that are perpetuated both unintentionally and intentionally. This paper examines the various ways disability and subsequently stigma arises from a variety of viewpoints both within and outside the tradition of behaviorism. Given an overview of behavioral research, much of which is line with non-behavioral conceptualizations track well on to, the author points to how Relational Frame Theory (RFT) and Contextual Behavioral Science (CBS) may offer potential applications for the reduction of stigma towards PWDs. Three studies were detailed across relevant relational frames and their potential roles in the formation and defusion of stigma thereby extending the prior behavioral research on utility for potential, computer-based societal interventions.

This research study began with an interest in understanding how social workers address poverty and/or low income in hospital settings. It discusses the ways in which hospital social workers address poverty in front line practice, while connecting how the experience of poverty and/or low income can further complicate one’s health and access to healthcare. This paper also discusses the ways that macro political ideologies, structural barriers and societal stigma impact how social workers address poverty in frontline hospital practice. Poverty is a social determinant of health, which is why understanding how hospital social workers address poverty in front line practice is important. Given the influence of neoliberalism and its impact on the growing gap between the rich and poor, it is suggested that poverty and low/income will continue throughout Canadian society. This paper also discusses, how accessing healthcare and navigating the system may become difficult for those experiencing poverty. This study is based on a thematic analysis of the findings from six semi-structured interviews with individuals practicing as social workers in two large teaching hospitals in southern Ontario. The data is interpreted and discussed using a critical framework, specifically, anti-oppressive practice and Marx theory. The subsequent findings indicate that in practice front-line social workers address poverty in practical ways. Major themes that emerged from this research include: addressing stigma, navigating “the system”, systemic and structural barriers, no family, no friends, and connecting with resources. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

The current study investigated a model explaining sexual assault victims’ severity of trauma symptoms that incorporated multiple stigma constructs. Integrating the sexual assault literature with the stigma literature, this study sought to better understand trauma-related outcomes of sexual assault by examining three levels of stigma—cultural, social, and self. Results showed self-stigma was significantly and positively related to trauma symptom severity. Thus, results revealed that the internalized aspect of stigma served as a mechanism in the relation between sexual assault severity and increased levels of trauma symptom severity, highlighting the importance of assessing self-stigma in women reporting sexual assault experiences.

Sexual minorities report experiencing more stigma, fewer psychosocial resources, and less positive regard. While differences within sexual minority subgroups may exist in terms of both experience and attitudes, the current literature lacks an exploration of those differences as well as an exploration of intersectionality (the concept of belonging to multiple minority groups thus creating a novel and distinctive experience). Our study aimed to examine sub-group differences as well as take an intersectional approach using data on heterosexuals, homosexuals, and bisexuals (N=1,725) from across the U.S. Bisexuals differed significantly from homosexuals on reported experiences, such as higher outness (p<.001, MD=-0.573). Further, significant differences were found between female (n=106) and male (n=136) homosexuals with lesbians reporting less direct help-seeking (t=-2.255, p=.026) and less perceived social support (t=-2.014, p=.046) than gay men, indicating that the intersection of gender and sexual orientation creates a novel experience for each group. These findings along with the lack of racial diversity lead us to conclude that a more extensive study must be done that targets racial minority individuals and expands the intersectional framework by including more gender and sexual orientation options. A full spectrum intersectionality study will be proposed.