TY - JOUR
T1 - Insights into stigma management communication theory
T2 - considering stigmatization as interpersonal influence
AU - Smith, Rachel A.
AU - Bishop, Rachael E.
N1 - Funding Information:
This project was supported by the National Human Genome Research under Award number R21HG007111. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. We are grateful to Xun Zhu, Ryan Chesnut, and Roxanne Parrott for their insights on earlier drafts, to the anonymous reviewers and editor for their constructive feedback, and to the members of the Alpha-1 Research Registry for sharing their thoughts and experience with us.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, © 2019 National Communication Association.
PY - 2019/9/3
Y1 - 2019/9/3
N2 - The theory of stigma management communication has helped identify and categorize the tactics people use to manage stigmatization, but tactics' predictors remain unknown. To address this gap, we considered stigmatization through the lens of interpersonal influence: as an act in which stigmatizers attempt to persuade their targets to accept categorization and de-individualization into a social group with a marginalized social status. Obstacle hypothesis, a theory of resistance to interpersonal influence, was used to derive predictors. Participants (N = 124) facing possible stigmatization due to their genetic risk for a chronic health condition completed a survey and shared memories of their initial test disclosures. The empirical tests showed that having a stronger sense of meaning in life, more unsafe experiences, and a broader information network predicted resisting stigmatization. The practical implications of bolstering one's sense of meaning in life and argumentation skills and their connections to resilience research are discussed.
AB - The theory of stigma management communication has helped identify and categorize the tactics people use to manage stigmatization, but tactics' predictors remain unknown. To address this gap, we considered stigmatization through the lens of interpersonal influence: as an act in which stigmatizers attempt to persuade their targets to accept categorization and de-individualization into a social group with a marginalized social status. Obstacle hypothesis, a theory of resistance to interpersonal influence, was used to derive predictors. Participants (N = 124) facing possible stigmatization due to their genetic risk for a chronic health condition completed a survey and shared memories of their initial test disclosures. The empirical tests showed that having a stronger sense of meaning in life, more unsafe experiences, and a broader information network predicted resisting stigmatization. The practical implications of bolstering one's sense of meaning in life and argumentation skills and their connections to resilience research are discussed.
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U2 - 10.1080/00909882.2019.1675894
DO - 10.1080/00909882.2019.1675894
M3 - Article
C2 - 33012878
AN - SCOPUS:85074373668
VL - 47
SP - 571
EP - 590
JO - Journal of Applied Communication Research
JF - Journal of Applied Communication Research
SN - 0090-9882
IS - 5
ER -