ABSTRACT
The defining characteristic of stigmatized people is that other people devalue them (Crocker, Major, & Steele, 1998). Devaluation exposes stigmatized people to a variety of stigma-related stressors (Allison, 1998; Meyer, 2003; Miller & Kaiser, 2001; Miller & Major, 2000). A stressor is an event in which environmental or internal demands tax or exceed the adaptive resources of the individual (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Stigma can create stress because other people have stereotyped expectancies about what stigmatized people are like, harbor prejudiced attitudes toward stigmatized people, and behave in a discriminatory manner toward stigmatized people (Fiske, 1998; Miller & Kaiser, 2001). The triumvirate of stereotypes, prejudiced attitudes, and discrimination, which throughout this chapter I refer to collectively simply as prejudice or stigma, can affect stigmatized people’s access to educational and employment opportunities, the quantity and quality of health care they receive, and their acceptance by the communities in which they live (Allison, 1998; R. Clark, Anderson, V. R. Clark, & Williams, 1999; Meyer, 2003). Stigmatization also results in psychological stress responses such as anger, anxiety, hopelessness, resentment, and fear (R. Clark et al., 1999) and physiological stress responses such as increases in cardiovascular activity (R. Clark et al., 1999; Tomaka, Blascovich, Kelsey, & Leitten, 1993). Coping is a response to stress that draws on the individual’s resources in an effort to meet the demands posed by a stressor (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).
