The "Own" and the "Wise": Does Stigma Status Buffer or Exacerbate Social Rejection of College Students with a Mental Illness?

Applying Goffman's stigma-status framework and using data from a survey administered to college students (N = 556), we find that respondents who have been diagnosed with a mental illness (the "own") or who know a family member or friend with a mental illness diagnosis (the "wise&...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Deviant behavior 2017-07, Vol.38 (7), p.744-755
Main Authors: Markowitz, Fred E., Engelman, Douglas J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
College students
Goffman, Erving (1922-1982)
Labeling
Mental disorders
Social distance
Social psychology
Social rejection
Stigma
Symptoms
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Summary:Applying Goffman's stigma-status framework and using data from a survey administered to college students (N = 556), we find that respondents who have been diagnosed with a mental illness (the "own") or who know a family member or friend with a mental illness diagnosis (the "wise") express lower desired social distance from persons with a mental illness than other respondents ("normals"). Also, informally labeling symptoms as "mental illness" reduced social distance among those similarly diagnosed. However, perceived dangerousness did not vary across stigma status, and the socially-distancing effects of perceived dangerousness were more pronounced among the "own."
ISSN:0163-9625
1521-0456
DOI:10.1080/01639625.2016.1197673