Stigma Management Communication: A Theory and Agenda for Applied Research on How Individuals Manage Moments of Stigmatized Identity

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 268-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca J. Meisenbach
Keyword(s):  
Applied Research ◽  
Management Communication ◽  
Stigma Management ◽  
Stigmatized Identity

Resurrecting and Appending Identities: The Role of Nonprofits in Managing Stigmatized Identity

2021 ◽  
pp. 089976402110072
Author(s):  
Kristen E. Okamoto ◽  
Brittany L. Peterson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Management Process ◽  
Stigma Management ◽  
Interpretive Analysis ◽  
Stigmatized Identity

Homelessness is an issue that impacts more than half a million people in the United States every day. Nonprofits are often on the front lines of efforts to aid individuals without homes. In this study, we focus on an area underexplored in the nonprofit literature, stigma, to explore the nonprofit’s role as a critical catalyst in managing stigma within and among client beneficiaries. Based on our interpretive analysis of interviews and observations of the nonprofit Running for Change (RFC), we delineate how RFC created conditions under which beneficiaries without homes could resurrect former identities and append new identities for themselves as part of the stigma management process. Our work carries implications for prior research on nonprofit organizing related to constituent participation and beneficiary empowerment and opens up new pathways for nonprofit partitioners to think about the agentic capacities of beneficiaries.

Stigma management strategy effectiveness in procuring job protected leave

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Deirdre Zerilli
Keyword(s):  
Cosmetic Surgery ◽  
Management Strategy ◽  
Reasoned Action ◽  
Management Communication ◽  
Stigma Management ◽  
University Of Missouri ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Unpaid Leave ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The University

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This experiment uses a 2x2x2 experimental design to assess the influence that type of appearance-related surgery (reconstructive or cosmetic), stigma management strategy (accepting or avoiding), and gender (male or female) have on participants' likelihood to grant an employee one weeks' worth of job-protected leave. This study used a combined theoretical lens of Stigma Management Communication (SMC; Meisenbach, 2010) and Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA; Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975) to guide predictions on the decision-making process of participants. While type of surgery (reconstructive or cosmetic) and stigma management strategy (accepting or avoiding) had no influence on participants' likelihood to grant unpaid leave, participants in reconstructive surgery conditions were significantly more likely to grant paid leave to requestors than participants in cosmetic surgery conditions. Similarly, while neither the gender of the requestor nor the gender of the participant had significant influence on participant decisions, the gender of the participant was significantly related to other factors within the study, such that female participants had significantly higher acceptance of cosmetic surgery, more positive attitudes toward people with disabilities, and a greater likelihood of knowing someone who had cosmetic surgery than men. Stigma management strategy did influence some variables within the study, such that women in reconstructive conditions perceived requestors using the "avoiding" stigma management strategy to be significantly more masculine than requestors who used the "accepting" stigma management strategy. Practical and theoretical implications of this study are discussed.

scholarly journals Mental health stigma on campus: the promotion of mental wellbeing to Ryerson students

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreea Mihai
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Visual Design ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Mental Health Stigma ◽  
Management Communication ◽  
Stigma Management ◽  
Expert Interview ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mental Well Being

This MRP looks at the communication used in mental health campaigns for a post-secondary student audience, focusing on how language use and visual design choices impact the stigma associated with mental health. This MRP focuses specifically on the communications seen on Ryerson University’s campus in the 2016 – 2017 academic school year. A video available on Ryerson’s YouTube channel and a sample of posters available throughout campus were analyzed for language and visual design choices to determine how they fit within stigma management communication strategies and how those choices had the potential to influence perceived stigma in viewers." Goffman’s (1963) theory on stigma and an individual’s identity was used to analyze the content of the video and posters. Goffman’s theory outlines the various stages of stigma that an individual experiences, and the impact of each stage on how that individual chooses to interact with others. Miesenbach’s (2010) model for stigma management communication, along with information from an expert interview with a front-line worker will also be used to analyze content in the video and posters. By understanding the communications around mental health through the lens of Goffman (1963) and Miesenbach (2010), it will be possible to understand how the communications are increasing or reducing the stigma around mental health. The analysis of the rhetoric in the messages gives a hint as to how our culture reflects stigma in the messages created, and how this rhetoric may affect students in a culture. This research analyzes Ryerson’s mental well-being campaign for the purpose of identifying a list of best practices for communicating about mental health. The findings show that one of the campaigns accomplishes this better than the other. Effective mental well-being campaigns are those that incorporate elements that normalize discussion of mental health topics, offer strategies for dealing with mental health concerns and overall, promote a culture that prioritizes mental well-being.

Online mental health advocacy groups social support, stigma management and advocacy messaging, and audience reactions to this messaging

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sarah Smith-Frigerio
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Advocacy Groups ◽  
Management Communication ◽  
Health Advocacy ◽  
Stigma Management ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Mental Health Advocacy

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Mental health concerns continue to be stigmatized in traditional media, in spite of -- or perhaps contributing to --high prevalence rates of mental health diagnoses globally. This has led to the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring a public health crisis. Given stigmatization in traditional media, mental health communication scholars are investigating how mental health concerns are depicted and discussed in digital and social media spaces, but this area remains underexplored. The WHO has also outlined the importance of grassroots mental health advocacy groups in addressing the public health crisis, and an understanding of such groups' social media content is imperative. Through the theoretical lenses of information and resources, social support, advocacy, and stigma management communication, case studies of two grassroots mental health advocacy groups were conducted. Analysis of 200 social media posts, interviews with 5 content creators, and interviews with 15 users of the groups' social media feeds identified five major themes: providing information and resources through peer support, using stories, encouragement and connection to provide peer support, using peer support to foster advocacy work amongst users, progressing through stigma management communication strategies from accepting to challenging, and the importance of what is left unsaid. The theoretical and practical implications of these themes are discussed in the final chapter.

scholarly journals Mental health stigma on campus: the promotion of mental wellbeing to Ryerson students

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreea Mihai
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Visual Design ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Mental Health Stigma ◽  
Management Communication ◽  
Stigma Management ◽  
Expert Interview ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mental Well Being

This MRP looks at the communication used in mental health campaigns for a post-secondary student audience, focusing on how language use and visual design choices impact the stigma associated with mental health. This MRP focuses specifically on the communications seen on Ryerson University’s campus in the 2016 – 2017 academic school year. A video available on Ryerson’s YouTube channel and a sample of posters available throughout campus were analyzed for language and visual design choices to determine how they fit within stigma management communication strategies and how those choices had the potential to influence perceived stigma in viewers." Goffman’s (1963) theory on stigma and an individual’s identity was used to analyze the content of the video and posters. Goffman’s theory outlines the various stages of stigma that an individual experiences, and the impact of each stage on how that individual chooses to interact with others. Miesenbach’s (2010) model for stigma management communication, along with information from an expert interview with a front-line worker will also be used to analyze content in the video and posters. By understanding the communications around mental health through the lens of Goffman (1963) and Miesenbach (2010), it will be possible to understand how the communications are increasing or reducing the stigma around mental health. The analysis of the rhetoric in the messages gives a hint as to how our culture reflects stigma in the messages created, and how this rhetoric may affect students in a culture. This research analyzes Ryerson’s mental well-being campaign for the purpose of identifying a list of best practices for communicating about mental health. The findings show that one of the campaigns accomplishes this better than the other. Effective mental well-being campaigns are those that incorporate elements that normalize discussion of mental health topics, offer strategies for dealing with mental health concerns and overall, promote a culture that prioritizes mental well-being.

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