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Mental Health Support Groups, Stigma, and Self‐Esteem: Positive and Negative Implications of Group Identification
Author(s) -
Crabtree Jason W.,
Haslam S. Alexander,
Postmes Tom,
Haslam Catherine
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.2010.01662.x
Subject(s) - self esteem , identification (biology) , stigma (botany) , psychology , mental health , clinical psychology , social stigma , social psychology , psychiatry , medicine , botany , family medicine , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , biology
Research into the relationship between stigmatization and well‐being suggests that identification with a stigmatized group can buffer individuals from the adverse effects of stigma. In part, this is because social identification is hypothesized to provide a basis for social support which increases resistance to stigma and rejection of negative in‐group stereotypes. The present research tests this model among individuals with mental health problems. As hypothesized, group identification predicted increased social support, stereotype rejection, and stigma resistance. These self‐protective mechanisms were in turn found to predict higher levels of self‐esteem. However, the general effect of these associations was to suppress a negative relationship between social identification and self‐esteem. This confirms that the positive impact of identification lies in its capacity to provide access to stress‐buffering mechanisms but also indicates that the impact of identification with a severely stigmatized group is not necessarily positive. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.