ABSTRACT

Being a member of a socially stigmatized group often plays a profound role in individuals’ lives. By definition, such persons are conferred with an inferior status by society, and as a result they are often subject to multiple forms of discrimination such as social isolation, lack of access to employment and housing, and concerns about physical safety. Goffman, in his classic text on the subject, says, “We believe the person with a stigma is not quite human. On this assumption we exercise varieties of discrimination, through which we effectively, if often unthinkingly, reduce his [sic] life chances” (Goffman, 1963, p. 5). Not surprisingly, stigmatized persons do report experiencing discrimination on the basis of their group membership (Swim & Stangor, 1998), a factor that contributes to their overall levels of stress (Clark et al., 1999; DiPlacido, 1998; Allison, 1998).1 Factors that may buffer an individual from this stress are the creation of a personal narrative, or life story, which has been linked to social identity (McAdams, 1996b), and social support (DiPlacido, 1998; Williams et al., 1999).