Stigma and prejudice: One animal or two?

Abstract

In light of increasing cross-communication and possible coalescence of conceptual models of stigma and prejudice, we reviewed 18 key models in order to explore commonalities and possible distinctions between prejudice and stigma. We arrive at two conclusions. First, the two sets of models have much in common (representing "one animal"); most differences are a matter of focus and emphasis. Second, one important distinction is in the type of human characteristics that are the primary focus of models of prejudice (race) and stigma (deviant behavior and identities, and disease and disabilities). This led us to develop a typology of three functions of stigma and prejudice: exploitation and domination (keeping people down); norm enforcement (keeping people in); and disease avoidance (keeping people away). We argue that attention to these functions will enhance our understanding of stigma and prejudice and our ability to reduce them. Keywords stigma; prejudice; conceptual models; race; disease; disability "Ethnic prejudice is an antipathy based upon a faulty and inflexible generalization. It may be felt or expressed. It may be directed toward a group as a whole, or toward an individual because he is a member of that group" (Allport 1954: 9). "Stigma … is the situation of the individual who is disqualified from full social acceptance" (Goffman 1963: preface). The stigmatized individual is "reduced in our minds from a whole and usual person to a tainted, discounted one" (Goffman 1963: 3).So are the terms "prejudice" and "stigma" defined by the authors who gave life to eachAllport publishing The Nature of Prejudice in 1954 and Goffman Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity in 1963. Since then, largely separate literatures have developed around the two concepts. However, there is evidence that these literatures have begun to coalesce. Increased attention by prejudice researchers to the targets of prejudice in the 1990s (Crocker and Garcia 2006) brought greater overlap to work on stigma and prejudice. The concepts of stigma, prejudice, and discrimination increasingly are used by the © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Corresponding Author: Dr. Jo Phelan jcp13@columbia.edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript same authors in the same texts (e.g., Heatherton et al. 2000;Levin and Van Laar 2006). In 2006, the National Institute of Mental Health brought together prejudice and stigma researchers to address the problem of mental-illness stigma. This special i...

Revisão sistemática dos estudos epidemiológicos sobre discriminação interpessoal e saúde mental

“…De modo geral, a ênfase na aferição da discriminação racial e na abordagem de populações negras nos estudos revisados reflete uma tendência já observada por outros autores nos trabalhos sobre preconceito no campo das ciên-cias humanas e sociais, especialmente no âmbito da psicologia e da sociologia 56 : pesquisadores dedicados ao escrutínio científico deste constructo frequentemente lidam com a questão da raça e assumem que o preconceito e o racismo se tratam de conceitos intimamente relacionados. Além disso, os modelos conceituais que procuram explicar o preconceito, seus antecedentes e suas consequências destacam o papel dos perpetradores e dos comportamentos discriminatórios, restritos ao nível interpessoal.…”

“…Tendo em vista que a literatura sobre discriminação e saúde mental se origina, em grande parte, dos Estados Unidos, seria razoável esperar que a produção científica sobre as relações de interesse para esta revisão procedesse deste país, com predomínio da questão racial, avaliada em nível individual. De certa forma, isso reflete quanto o racismo foi (e ainda é) um aspecto central na constituição dos Estados Unidos como nação, em que a escravidão foi tomada como um elemento fundamental na manutenção da riqueza do país, e a discriminação, considerada até mesmo necessária, sendo apoiada por ideologias de cunho racista que a justificavam 56 . A proeminência da questão racial nos estudos sobre preconceito e discriminação está em contraste com o que se observa nas investigações cujo fenômeno central é o estigma.…”

“…A proeminência da questão racial nos estudos sobre preconceito e discriminação está em contraste com o que se observa nas investigações cujo fenômeno central é o estigma. Nesse caso, valorizam-se análises dos estigmas associados às doenças, incapacidades ou "desvios da normalidade" 56 . Pesquisas futuras abordando a discriminação e suas interfaces com condições e comportamentos em saúde deverão, idealmente, ampliar o foco sobre os tipos de discriminação avaliados, incluindo também outros eixos de desigualdades, como gênero, orientação sexual, classe, dentre outros.…”

Stigma, prejudice, discrimination and health

“…So, while we argued at the outset of this commentary that stigma and prejudice are conceptually more alike than dissimilar, we further highlight that there are differences in the root causes of these social processes maintaining the conceptual distinction. As Phelan, Link, and Dovidio (2008) conclude, the functions of stigma and prejudice in society have varied throughout history. While the root causes of stigma and prejudice stem from exploitation and dominance, the rationales used to stigmatize further extend to norm enforcement and to disease avoidance (Phelan et al, 2008).…”

The Relationship between Drug User Stigma and Depression among Inner-City Drug Users in Baltimore, MD

“…32 Stigma is a multifaceted construct involving prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination and can be experiences as enacted, anticipated, and internalized. Phelan et al 33 have proposed that there are three functions of stigma and prejudice: (1) exploitation/domination, (2) enforcement of social norms, and (3) avoidance of disease. According to this perspective proposed by Link, 34 discrimination is considered a subset of behaviors that manifests because of prejudice and stigma.…”