Insights into stigma management communication theory: considering stigmatization as interpersonal influence

ABSTRACT

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.

KEYWORDS:

• Stigma management
• interpersonal influence
• obstacle hypothesis
• disclosure memories
• resistance
• intrafamily secrets

Acknowledgements

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.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Rachel A. Smith http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2407-7515

Notes

1 We thank an anonymous reviewer for this insight and phrasing.

2 An important facet of these quadrants is the difference between enacting stigmatization and the existence of a public stigma. A person may speak dehumanizing comments that are not accepted by the larger community and be considered abnormal for their dehumanization.

Additional information

Funding

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.