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A Paradox of Support Seeking and Rejection Among the Stigmatized

Individuals perceiving stigma may be unwilling to seek support directly. Instead, they may use indirect strategies due to fear of rejection. Ironically, indirect seeking leads to unsupportive network responses (i.e., rejection). In Study 1, data collected from structured interviews of a sample of U.S. women in poverty (N = 116) showed that perceived poverty-related stigma was related to increased fear of rejection, which in turn partially mediated perceived stigma and indirect seeking. In Study 2, data gathered from structured interviews of a sample of U.S. abused women (N = 177) revealed that perceived abuse-related stigma was linked to increased indirect seeking, which in turn related to increased unsupportive network responses. By contrast, direct support seeking was related to increased supportive and decreased unsupportive responses.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:etsu-works-9279
Date01 December 2008
CreatorsWilliams, Stacey L., Mickelson, Kristin D.
PublisherDigital Commons @ East Tennessee State University
Source SetsEast Tennessee State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
SourceETSU Faculty Works

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