TY - JOUR
T1 - Living with a rare health condition
T2 - the influence of a support community and public stigma on communication, stress, and available support
AU - Zhu, Xun
AU - Smith, Rachel A.
AU - Parrott, Roxanne L.
N1 - Funding Information:
This project was supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute [Award number R21HG007111] and by the National Institute on Drug Abuse [Award number P50-DA010075-16].
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 National Communication Association.
PY - 2017/3/15
Y1 - 2017/3/15
N2 - People affected by rare diseases often have limited coping resources and sometimes face stigma. They build communities with others who share their conditions, but not all members may benefit from these communities. This study investigated how adults with a rare genetic health condition (Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency; AATD) think about both the Alpha-1 community and public stigma about AATD, and how these cognitions predict their communication responses and well-being. The results showed that people with AATD-encountered stigmatization from various sources. Stronger public stigma predicted more secrecy, more stress, and less available support. Stronger group identification with the Alpha-1 community predicted less secrecy; stronger group activism predicted more available support and more communication to challenge stigmatizers. Post hoc analyses showed significant interactions between public stigma and group cognitions on communication to challenge stigmatizers. Practical implications for bolstering communities to improve the well-being of people with rare diseases were discussed.
AB - People affected by rare diseases often have limited coping resources and sometimes face stigma. They build communities with others who share their conditions, but not all members may benefit from these communities. This study investigated how adults with a rare genetic health condition (Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency; AATD) think about both the Alpha-1 community and public stigma about AATD, and how these cognitions predict their communication responses and well-being. The results showed that people with AATD-encountered stigmatization from various sources. Stronger public stigma predicted more secrecy, more stress, and less available support. Stronger group identification with the Alpha-1 community predicted less secrecy; stronger group activism predicted more available support and more communication to challenge stigmatizers. Post hoc analyses showed significant interactions between public stigma and group cognitions on communication to challenge stigmatizers. Practical implications for bolstering communities to improve the well-being of people with rare diseases were discussed.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85015890446&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85015890446&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/00909882.2017.1288292
DO - 10.1080/00909882.2017.1288292
M3 - Article
C2 - 29398734
AN - SCOPUS:85015890446
VL - 45
SP - 179
EP - 198
JO - Journal of Applied Communication Research
JF - Journal of Applied Communication Research
SN - 0090-9882
IS - 2
ER -