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Managing a stigmatized identity—evidence from a longitudinal analysis about people with mental illness
Author(s) -
Ilic Marie,
Reinecke Jost,
Bohner Gerd,
Röttgers HansOnno,
Beblo Thomas,
Driessen Martin,
Frommberger Ulrich,
Corrigan Patrick William
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/jasp.12239
Subject(s) - mental illness , psychology , mental health , stigma (botany) , coping (psychology) , empowerment , psychological resilience , clinical psychology , social identity theory , psychiatry , social psychology , developmental psychology , social group , political science , law
Previous research about coping with the stigma of mental illness mostly relied on cross‐sectional or qualitative research designs. In the present study, the consequences of ten identity management strategies for mental illness stigma were observed in a longitudinal design. Cross‐lagged analyses were used to describe the influence of the strategies on the frequency of stigma experiences and on mental health in a two‐wave panel of people with mental illness ( n = 367, 79% repeated response rate). Selective disclosure and information seeking emerged as adaptive identity management strategies, whereas overcompensation and withdrawal led to lower mental health. Results were mostly unaffected by demographic and psychiatric variables. The results support an empowerment model of stigma resilience that portrays stigmatized people as active constructors of their social world.