Although the adoption of the notion of stigma by social administrators owes much to the work of sociologists and social psychologists it would be misleading to give undue emphasis to these particular influences. The importance contemporary social administrators attach to the concept of stigma owes far more to the deep-rooted historical association between this notion and certain developments in social policy. In particular, the concept of stigma has been inextricably linked with the treatment of the able-bodied poor over the centuries. For example, a series of repressive measures were introduced by Tudor governments during the sixteenth century in an attempt to curb the incidence of vagrancy.1 The punishments meted out to those deemed to be members of the undeserving poor were intended not only to be physically unpleasant but also highly ‘stigmatizing’ (e.g. whip­ ping, stocking, branding and ear-boring).2