The stigma system

How sociopolitical domination, scapegoating, and stigma shape public health

Bibliographic Data

ID11044196
AuthorsR Friedman (0000-0003-2083-1226, Department of Population Health New York University Grossman School of Medicine New York New York USA, corresponding author), Leslie D Williams (0000-0003-3071-5966, Division of Community Health Sciences University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health Chicago Illinois USA), Honoria Guarino (0000-0002-6533-6141, Institute for Implementation Science in Population Health CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy New York New York USA), Pedro Mateu‐gelabert (0000-0003-4003-3782, Institute for Implementation Science in Population Health CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy New York New York USA), Noa Krawczyk (0000-0002-7396-3938, Department of Population Health New York University Grossman School of Medicine New York New York USA), Leah Hamilton (0000-0002-5603-8046, Department of Population Health New York University Grossman School of Medicine New York New York USA), Suzan M Walter (0000-0002-2975-2893, University of Southern California), Suzan M Walters (NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, Interdisciplinary Research Training Institute on Hispanic Drug Abuse University of Southern California Los Angeles California USA), J M Ezell (0000-0002-9884-7909, Department of Sociology University of Chicago Chicago Illinois USA), Maria R Khan (0000-0002-9197-0365, New York University), Maria Khan (0000-0003-4689-8189, Department of Population Health New York University Grossman School of Medicine New York New York USA), Jorgelina Di Iorio (0000-0003-3714-7340, Faculty of Psychology and Intercambios Civil Association CONICET/Buenos Aires University Buenos Aires Argentina), Lawrence Hsin Yang (0000-0001-7779-7423, New York University), Valerie A Earnshaw (0000-0002-4147-3301, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences University of Delaware Newark Delaware USA)
Year2022
Volume50
Issue1
Pages385-408
Publication date2022-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Community Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-4392 • E-ISSN: 1520-6629
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/jcop.22581
PMID34115390
OpenAlexW3172496775
LanguageEN
Citations received35
References cited120

Stigma is a fundamental driver of adverse health outcomes. Although stigma is often studied at the individual level to focus on how stigma influences the mental and physical health of the stigmatized, considerable research has shown that stigma is multilevel and structural. This paper proposes a theoretical approach that synthesizes the literature on stigma with the literature on scapegoating and divide‐and‐rule as strategies that the wealthy and powerful use to maintain their power and wealth; the literatures on racial, gender, and other subordination; the literature on ideology and organization in sociopolitical systems; and the literature on resistance and rebellion against stigma, oppression and other forms of subordination. we develop a model of the “stigma system” as a dialectic of interacting and conflicting structures and processes. Understanding this system can help public health reorient stigma interventions to address the sources of stigma as well as the individual problems that stigma creates. On a broader level, this model can help those opposing stigma and its effects to develop alliances and strategies with which to oppose stigma and the processes that create it

Blame · Criminology · Dialectic · Epistemology · Ideology · Mental health · Oppression · Political science · Politics · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Scapegoating · Sociology · Stigma (botany) · Employment and Welfare Studies · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Psychology · Social Psychology

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