The Stigma Complex

By Bernice A. Pescosolido, Jack K. Martin. The Annual review of sociology, 2015

732 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, research on stigma has continued. Building on conceptual and empirical work, the recent period clarifies new types of stigmas, expansion of measures, identification of new directions, and increasingly complex levels. Standard beliefs have been challenged, the relationship between stigma research and public debates reconsidered, and new scientific foundations for policy and programs suggested. We begin with a summary of the most recent Annual Review articles on stigma, which reminded sociologists of conceptual tools, informed them of developments from academic neighbors, and claimed findings from the early period of “resurgence.” Continued (even accelerated) progress has also revealed a central problem. Terms and measures are often used interchangeably, leading to confusion and decreasing accumulated knowledge. Drawing from this work but focusing on the past 14 years of stigma research (including mental illness, sexual orientation, HIV/AIDS, and race/ethnicity), we provide a theoretical architecture of concepts (e.g., prejudice, experienced/received discrimination), drawn together through a stigma process (i.e., stigmatization), based on four theoretical premises. Many characteristics of the mark (e.g., discredited, concealable) and variants (i.e., stigma types and targets) become the focus of increasingly specific and multidimensional definitions. Drawing from complex and systems science, we propose a stigma complex, a system of interrelated, heterogeneous parts bringing together insights across disciplines to provide a more realistic and complicated sense of the challenge facing research and change efforts. The Framework Integrating Normative Influences on Stigma (FINIS) offers a multilevel approach that can be tailored to stigmatized statuses. Finally, we outline challenges for the next phase of stigma research, with the goal of continuing scientific activity that enhances our understanding of stigma and builds the scientific foundation for efforts to reduce intolerance.

Subfields: General Health Professions, Social Psychology, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/057bd5a3a6b652dfd1419128aae578478f5891b0

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In General Health Professions

In Social Psychology

In Sociology and Political Science

Citations in the corpus

Countries and Cultural Differences in the Stigma of Mental Illness: The East–West Divide (2020, background): “Because research has demonstrated that attributions, prejudice, and discrimination toward mental illness are interrelated (Pescosolido & Martin, 2015; Stefanovics et al., 2016; Yang et al., 2007), the current work explored the possibility that cultural differences in attributions about the etiology…”
Resistance to sex work stigma (2018, background): “Two prominent literature reviews mention the issue of change, but only in passing and with skepticism regarding the potential for eroding stigma (Link and Phelan, 2001; Pescosolido and Martin, 2015).”
Seeing the Destination AND the Path: Using Identity‐Based Motivation to Understand and Reduce Racial Disparities in Academic Achievement (2017, background): “…living in a bad neighborhood, and being discriminated against are all potential stigmas, especially if perceived as one’s own fault—stemming from one’s own actions and deficits rather than the result of social structure (Blumkin, Margalioth, & Sadka, 2013; for a review, Pescosolido & Martin, 2015).”