Stigma as a fundamental cause of population health inequalities

M.L. Hatzenbuehler, J.C. Phelan and B.G. Link

American Journal of Public Health, 2013, vol. 103, issue 5, 813-821

Abstract: Bodies of research pertaining to specific stigmatized statuses have typically developed in separate domains and have focused on single outcomes at 1 level of analysis, thereby obscuring the full significance of stigma as a fundamental driver of population health. Here we provide illustrative evidence on the health consequences of stigma and present a conceptual framework describing the psychological and structural pathways through which stigma influences health. Because of its pervasiveness, its disruption of multiple life domains (e.g., resources, social relationships, and coping behaviors), and its corrosive impact on the health of populations, stigma should be considered alongside the other major organizing concepts for research on social determinants of population health.

Keywords: article; attitude to health; employment; health care delivery; health care disparity; health disparity; human; Human immunodeficiency virus infection; human relation; medical sociology; mental patient; mental stress; minority group; obesity; psychological aspect; self concept; sexual behavior; social isolation; social stigma, Attitude to Health; Employment; Health Services Accessibility; Health Status Disparities; Healthcare Disparities; HIV Infections; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Mentally Ill Persons; Minority Groups; Obesity; Self Concept; Sexual Behavior; Social Isolation; Social Stigma; Sociology, Medical; Stress, Psychological (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (103)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2012.301069_5

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301069

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