The Role of Openness in Interracial Interactions

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Kathleen A. Klik on April 26,2012

Bridging Social and Clinical Psychology to Understand Mental Illness Stigma

This is a systematic review of the literature on the relationship between internalized stigma and treatment adherence among those diagnosed with a mental illness, with a specific emphasis on identifying gaps in the literature. This review brings together one particular topic in social psychology (e.g., internalized stigma) that may inform clinically relevant work (e.g., treatment adherence among those diagnosed with a mental illness). Self-esteem, hope, self-efficacy, quality of life, social support, shame, insight, and coping were identified as mechanisms of internalized stigma. A theoretical model is proposed to examine these psychosocial mechanisms and identify gaps in relation to the relationship between internalized stigma and treatment adherence. This model provides further understanding of how internalized stigma influences treatment adherence among those diagnosed with a mental illness. Additionally, this review may provide an understanding of not only how internalized stigma relates to treatment adherence, but also advance psychological theory, identify directions for future research and point to avenues for future interventions

Stigma as a Framework for Women’s Infertility

In the United States, 6.7 million or 10.9% of women, between the ages of 15 and 44 have difficulty becoming or staying pregnant and of these women 6% are infertile (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2012). Infertility is defined as twelve months of regular, unprotected intercourse yielding no pregnancy (Tierney, McPhee, & Papadakis, 1999). For those struggling with infertility there can be numerous negative psychological problems, including depression and anxiety (Jordan & Revenson, 1999). Given the widespread and negative impact of infertility, it is important to further understand and explain the experiences of infertile women. The present work contributes to the literature by qualitatively examining women’s infertility as a stigmatizing experience. Goffman (1963) defines stigma as an attribute that society deems as deeply discrediting and reduces an “individual from a whole and usual person to a tainted, discounted one” (p. 3). Moreover, individuals who possess a stigmatizing condition are likely viewed as a less or inferior person. Because women struggling with infertility are unable to fulfill societal norms that mandate motherhood (e.g., Gonzalez, 2000; Whiteford & Gonzalez, 1995), women experiencing infertility may perceive stigma. The aim of the current study is to explore infertility as stigmatizing in order to provide a more complete framework for understanding negative psychological outcomes among women with infertility. To this end, we conducted qualitative interviews with nine women who had been trying to conceive without success for at least one year. Participants were recruited by newspaper advertisements, campus emails, flyers in local nurse practitioner clinics and local infertility clinics in Johnson City, TN. Interviews were conducted one-on-one and were guided by general questions about the most difficult aspects of infertility and how women’s lives, including social relationships and beliefs about themselves, had been impacted by the experience. Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded for themes. Five reoccurring themes were identified: culture and norms, feelings of failure and loss of 2013 Appalachian Student Research Forum Page 115 womanhood, infertility as stigmatizing condition, change of world view, and social support. Each of these themes can be discussed in relation to the public and self aspects of stigma. For example, the expectation that females progressing into adulthood will eventually have children influenced infertile women’s interactions with the world around them causing them to feel inadequate and question their purpose in life. Moreover, women in our study reported being constantly reminded of their infertility struggles through everyday social interactions with strangers, family, and friends, some of which included differential treatment due to infertility. These continual reminders led women to internalize the negative beliefs regarding not living up to societal gender expectations or stereotypes. Furthermore, women’s reports of alienation and self-isolation, as well as anger and frustration map onto previous models of stigma-related processes (e.g., Hatzenbuehler, 2009; Richman & Leary, 2009. Thus, stigma theory may provide a framework with which to more fully understand the negative psychosocial outcomes commonly reported among women encountering infertility

When Do Negative Response Expectancies Undermine Interracial Relations? The Role of the Protestant Work Ethic

Although accumulating research indicates that negative expectations about interracial interactions undermine the quality of such interactions, little research has examined the factors that moderate the influence of negative expectations on responses to interracial interactions. We propose that individuals who endorse work-related ideologies such as the Protestant work ethic (PWE) expect that outcomes in interracial interactions should be contingent upon individual effort. As a result, such individuals are hypothesized to respond in a negative manner when they believe that regardless of their effort in an interracial interaction, interaction partners will respond negatively to them (termed negative response expectancies). Consistent with this hypothesis, negative response expectancies led to an increased desire to avoid interracial interactions (Studies 1a and 1b) and more antisocial behavior directed at an interracial interaction partner among individuals who strongly endorsed the PWE (Study 2). Across the studies, effects of negative response expectancies were relatively weaker or non-significant among individuals lower in the PWE. The implications of these findings for understanding the interplay between the PWE and expectancies in interracial interactions are discussed

Toward Understanding Mental Illness Stigma and Help-Seeking: A Social Identity Perspective

Introduction: People who experience mental illness are unlikely to seek help. Research suggests that mental illness stigma negatively impacts help-seeking, yet there is little information about factors that relate to stigma that are positively associated with help-seeking among those with compromised mental health. Emerging research suggests that aspects of the social identity perspective, namely group social identification and perceptions about the group, may provide insights as to how people who experience mental illness navigate help-seeking. Objective: In two studies we aimed to: (1) identify factors (i.e., social identification and perceptions of the group) that relate to stigma that are also associated with the multi-step process of help-seeking; and (2) explore if these factors and aspects of the help-seeking process that occur prior to service utilization (such as illness and symptom recognition) are positively associated with behavioral service utilization. Method: Study 1 employed Amazon\u27s Mechanical Turk to recruit 90 participants who reported being diagnosed with a mental illness and not actively seeking treatment (i.e., medication or seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist). Study 2 employed Facebook to recruit 131 participants who self-reported a mental illness diagnosis. Results: Controlling for symptom severity, mental illness stigma was positively associated with social identification, which in turn positively impacted help-seeking in Study 1. Further, the relationship between social identification and help-seeking was strongest among those with a negative perception of the mental illness group. In Study 2, results indicated that social identification predicted behavioral service utilization, providing support for Study 1. Conclusion: Taken together, these findings suggest that social identification as a person with a mental illness is positively associated with the multi-step process of help-seeking and may be important for those who experience mental illness stigma to get help that enables and facilitates better functioning

The Theory of Planned Behavior and the Social Identity Approach: A New Look at Group Processes and Social Norms in the Context of Student Binge Drinking

The current study investigates the theory of planned behavior with important additional predictors from the social identity approach. The study explores whether social identity might function as a driver of the theory of planned behavior and help explain how abstract group processes might impact student binge drinking behavior. Adopting a controlled statistical analysis, the hypothesized model expands the theory of planned behavior’s current conceptualization of group norms and considers how the behavioral content of a specific group, with group identification, impacts binge drinking behavior (N = 551 university students). A path analysis that simultaneously mapped all the hypothesized relationships supported a reconceptualization of social identity as a predictor within the theory of planned behavior. The interaction between group identification and the importance of drinking to the group’s identity significantly predicted an individual’s attitudes towards binge drinking and perceived social binge drinking norms (subjective, descriptive and injunctive), which in turn predicted intentions to binge drink. Intentions to binge drink predicted self-reported binge drinking behavior two weeks later, above and beyond relevant covariates. The implications of these findings are discussed, with recommendations for future research

A Paradox of Support Seeking and Support Response Among Gays and Lesbians

Individuals that perceive stigma surrounding their identity and fear rejection of support requests may experience a paradox whereby they seek support indirectly from support networks (friends and family) to avoid rejection and are met with unsupportive responses. This study extended this paradox to sexual minorities using survey data from a sample of 133 individuals self-identified as gay and lesbian. Results of structural equation modeling showed self-stigma and fear of support rejection linked to increased indirect support seeking, which in turn explained unsupportive network responses, providing support for a paradox among gays and lesbians. Findings may have implications for interventions to improve support exchanges in the lives of sexual minorities