Drawing from the vast literature on stigmas, theories of status generalizations and affect, this study employs a formal framework to delineate among different kinds of stigmas and different processes by which they might operate. This study then considers the case of a particular type of stigma, a behavioral stigma, a label that is obtained from past behavior. The formalization distinguishes how knowledge of a particular type of stigma operates through group members who then cast an â otherâ into a stigmatized role with special attention to affect and behavior of the stigmatized individual and the other group members. Additionally, I am able to study the developmental process of stigma because, in the particular theoretical case I consider, the stigmatized individual is initially unaware of the stigma. The findings indicate that stigma were created and did have an effect on individuals and groups. While the observable power and prestige effects were much more pronounced for measures of content versus measures of amount of interaction stigmatized groups were characterized by more disapproval, fewer agreements and more interruptions than were nonstigmatized groups. Further, those who were stigmatized had less influence than other group members. In terms of feelings, there was support for the hypotheses suggesting that stigmatized individuals rate both themselves and their groups more negatively than do nonstigmatized group members. Also, those who were not stigmatized rated the stigmatized person more negatively than others. While there were no significant differences between Stigmatized and Control groups relative to happiness or group cohesion and efficiency, those in the Control groups were more committed to their groups than were those in the Stigmatized groups. This study contributes to the large literature on stigma by examining one kind of stigma. It also contributes to several established literatures in social psychological theory. This study has implications for the power of the social construction of stigma and consequently for the power of social construction in the dismantling of stigma.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009. / Full text also available online. Scroll down for electronic link.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 176-186). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Bakgrund: Hepatit C är en blodburen smitta som främst smittar via orena sprutor och kanyler. Personer smittade med Hepatit C är en utsatt grupp i samhället och de upplever oftast negativt bemötande ifrån sjukvårdspersonal. Då är det extra viktigt att som sjuksköterska använda rätt förhållningssätt i mötet med den smittade. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att belysa hur personer smittade med Hepatit C upplevde och hanterade bemötandet i vården. Metod: Litteraturstudie av elva kvalitativa artiklar vilka analyserades med en manifest innehållsanalys enligt Lundman och Hällgren-Graneheim (2012). Studien har en kvalitativ ansats. Resultat: Personerna upplevde till största del ett negativt bemötande ifrån vårdpersonalen, i vissa fall fanns det positiva bemötanden. Till exempel vid uppsökande verksamhet eller då vårdgivaren hade känt dem en längre tid. Personerna upplevde sig också kränkta pga. sin diagnos och de sökte efter olika strategier för att kunna hantera dessa negativa upplevelser. Slutsatser: Det negativa bemötandet dominerade bland upplevelserna. Ökad utbildning och kunskap hos vårdpersonalen kan minska stigmatiseringen som dessa individer känner.

Weight-based stigmatization refers to negative beliefs and weight-related attitudes that are demonstrated through rejection, bias, stereotypes, and prejudice towards individuals because they are overweight or obese. With weight stigma prevalent and on the rise, assessment of factors associated with weight stigma is important in developing effective interventions for children. The goal of this study was to investigate weight stigma in relation to perspective taking skills and executive function (EF). Sixty-two 4- to 7-year-olds were administered measures of weight stigma (explicit and a Weight Implicit Association Test; Weight IAT), perspective taking skills, and EF. As expected, most children demonstrated the stereotype that fat was bad on explicit and implicit measures. Results showed that explicit weight stigma increases with age, and perspective taking skills and EF were not associated with weight stigma. The findings suggest that weight stigma increases with age and that early intervention is needed to reduce weight stigma. / Graduate

On September 4, 2013, two men were shot in the suburb Biskopsgården in Gothenburg. This was the catalysts to a very problematic autumn in both Biskopsgården as in another suburb, Hisingsbacka. The local media reports of the events were very through, where the newspaper Göteborgs-Posten took a leading role. It’s these reports which form the basis, the so called material of our essay. Our purpose with this essay is to examine which kind of medial message about the suburbs and their inhibitors the articles sends out to Göteborgs-Posten’s readers. We did this by putting our material against three issues, the first one was how Göteborgs-Posten did portray the suburbs when it came to; choice of words and phrases, angles and how the photos was composed. The second one was if Göteborgs-Posten had failed in its objective reporting when it came to; an “us versus them” perspective, which kind of medial message was sent out and if the journalist took a subjective position in the article. We also examined which actors were heard and what they represent in the society? We approached this study in a qualitative method way because we felt that we needed to examine the theme in its depth. The result were then linked to our three theories which were; framing, stigma and representation theory. The results from our study showed that our first thoughts about the subject did not match the reality of Göteborg-Posten’s reports. The medial image that was sent out wasn’t that negative as we first expected. The result shows that most of the articles in our sample had not a stigmatized tone or gave a misleading media image of the suburbs. In the cases that did send out a negative image it was mostly in the form of words and phrases. Other results obtained by our content analysis of the Göteborgs-Posten’s reporting on the subject was, for the most part were Swedes in the judicial system followed by affected immigrants who took the most place in the articles. Another interesting result was that both negative and positive stigma was encountered in the articles.

Background Stigma and discrimination because of medical conditions is a global phenomenon. Epilepsy and mental illness belong to the most stigmatizing disorders world-wide. Culture, religion, education, life-style influences the perception of stigma. There are two aspects of stigma of special interest for this thesis; internalized stigma, which is the perception of a person suffering from a condition and the public perception of this disorder. This study investigates both aspects of stigma because of mental illness and epilepsy. Internalized stigma of mental illness and epilepsy are also studied in Umea, Sweden, with the same instrument as in Iran in order to look at the cultural influence. Methods Paper 1 and 2 on internalized stigma because of mental disorders and epilepsy in Tehran: These studies are cross-sectional with 138 persons with mental illness recruited from three different hospitals in Tehran and 130 persons with epilepsy from one neurologic clinic in Tehran and the Iran epilepsy association. Internalized stigma because of mental illness was measured using ISMI (Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness) questionnaire and because of epilepsy with the same instrument adapted for epilepsy (ISEP). ISMI/ISEP contains 29 items measured by a 4-point Likert scale. An open-ended question about the experiences of discrimination was added. Paper 3 and 4 on public attitudes towards mental disorders and epilepsy in Tehran: These two studies were performed with 800 individuals randomly chosen from households in four districts of Iran (north, south, east and west). In Paper 3 on attitudes and knowledge of mental illness a modified version of a questionnaire developed for the World Association program to reduce discrimination and stigma because of schizophrenia was used. In Paper 4 on awareness of and attitudes towards epilepsy a questionnaire originally developed by Caveness and Gallup in United States as early as 1949 was used and since used in many studies all over the world. Paper 5 and 6 comparing internalized stigma because of mental disorders and epilepsy in Tehran and Umea: These two studies included patients suffering from mental disorders (N=163) and epilepsy (N=93) recruited from the university hospital in Umea, Sweden. The same questions as used in Paper 1 and 2 were applied. Results The experience of stigma because of mental disorders was high in the Iranian sample. The Swedish sample generally reported lower levels of experienced stigma than the Iranian except for items covering self-blame and feelings of alienation. As regards epilepsy the Iranian sample reported quite a high level of experienced stigma compared to the Swedish sample. Generally the patients with epilepsy reported lower levels of experienced stigma compared to patients with mental illness in the two settings. Attitudes towards mentally ill persons in Tehran were at the same levels as in western high income countries. The knowledge about and attitudes towards persons with epilepsy was also generally at the same level as found in other European studies expect for a much lower acceptance as regards accepting a person with epilepsy to marry someone in the family. Conclusion Stigma because of mental illness and epilepsy is a reality even in Iran, which is an Islamic setting in spite of the teachings of the Koran to show mercy with people who suffer from different ailments and rather well developed health services. The levels of experienced stigma is higher in Iran compared to Sweden, but still there is quite a lot of stigma because of mental illness even in Sweden in spite of several national efforts to reduce stigma. The lower levels of stigma because of epilepsy in both settings and especially in Sweden, is suggested to be the consequence of effective treatments available for epilepsy compared to the less successful treatments available for mental illness. The differences in internalized stigma reported and the public perceptions of stigma because of both mental illness and epilepsy between Iran and Sweden is suggested partly a consequence of the different cultural settings, Sweden being an extremely individualistic society compared to the more collectivistic Iranian society.

Stigma was defined by Goffman (1963) as a mark of discredited identity or inhumanity and recently, by Link and Phelan (2001), as a process of labelling, stereotyping, separating, discrimination, and status loss. These phenomena demonstrate the means by which a group can become a representation of “otherness” to another group. During the Rwandan Genocide, Radio Television Libre des Milles Collines (RTLM) broadcast messages which negatively stereotyped the Tutsi people (Straus, 2007). This investigation used Critical Discourse Analysis to investigate RTLM broadcasts during the Rwandan Genocide and to determine how stigmatization influenced the portrayal of the Tutsi people as social “others.” This investigation found that the historical context of the Rwandan Genocide influenced the formation of the Tutsi stigma and this stigma was used as a justification for the otherness of the Tutsi people. These results indicate that stigma can be used to facilitate the formation of social “others.”

No description available.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is on the rise. Being overweight or obese is associated with serious medical, psychological, and social consequences. The main social consequence of being overweight or obese is stigma, which is detrimental to overweight and obese people. Three types of obesity stigma reduction interventions have been proposed and tested: changing attributions, increasing empathy, and social consensus. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of these interventions and to determine the effectiveness of an intervention that incorporates major elements of the three interventions. Three hundred eighty one University of Manitoba undergraduate students participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to one of five intervention groups: status quo group, changing attributions group, increasing empathy group, social consensus group, and multi-level intervention group. The interventions involved presenting participants with information intended to influence participants’ perceptions of overweight and obese individuals. Pre-test and post-test ratings were obtained on participants’ attributions about weight, feelings about obese people, and endorsement of positive and negative stereotypes of obese people. Analyses of these ratings revealed that the empathy and multi-level interventions are the only interventions that improved attributions, feelings, and endorsement of stereotypes, and this suggests that the multi-level and empathy interventions were the most powerful. On the other hand, the attribution intervention had the largest overall effect and affected attributions, feelings, and negative stereotypes. Therefore, there are reasons to believe that the attribution intervention was the most powerful in this study. Participants were subsequently asked to rate a target overweight person. Half of all participants were informed that the target was overweight because of medical reasons, while the other half were informed that the target was overweight because of regular overeating and a sedentary lifestyle. Surprisingly, the intervention groups did not significantly differ in target ratings on any variable. Reasons for this lack of effect are discussed. A main effect did occur in the ratings of the target for controllability information. Specifically, participants who were informed that the target was overweight for uncontrollable reasons (e.g., glandular disorder) reported more favorable ratings in liking her and not blaming her, as compared to participants who were informed that the target was overweight for controllable reasons (e.g., regular overeating and sedentary lifestyle). Ratings of the target’s characteristics and physical attractiveness did not change with this manipulation. Overall, this study provided logical and consistent results, while adding specific information to the literature. Further, this study offered a new, effective intervention for obesity stigma reduction, as well as providing some support for the empathy and attribution interventions. These three interventions proved to be the strongest in this study, and perhaps they will one day be used as part of a more global intervention to reduce stigma and discrimination toward overweight and obese people.