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. 2009 Oct;20(10):1282-9.
doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02441.x. Epub 2009 Sep 17.

How does stigma "get under the skin"?: the mediating role of emotion regulation

Mark L Hatzenbuehler  1 , Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, John Dovidio
Affiliations

How does stigma "get under the skin"?: the mediating role of emotion regulation

Mark L Hatzenbuehler et al. Psychol Sci. 2009 Oct.

Abstract

Stigma is a risk factor for mental health problems, but few studies have considered how stigma leads to psychological distress. The present research examined whether specific emotion-regulation strategies account for the stigma-distress association. In an experience-sampling study, rumination and suppression occurred more on days when stigma-related stressors were reported than on days when these stressors were not reported, and rumination mediated the relationship between stigma-related stress and psychological distress. The effect of social support on distress was moderated by the concealability of the stigma: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) respondents reported more isolation and less social support than African American respondents subsequent to experiencing stigma-related stressors, whereas African Americans reported greater social support than LGB participants. Social isolation mediated the stigma-distress association among LGB respondents. In a second experimental study, participants who ruminated following the recall of an autobiographical discrimination event exhibited prolonged distress on both implicit and explicit measures relative to participants who distracted themselves; this finding provides support for a causal role of rumination in the stigma-distress relationship.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Results from Study 2: reported psychological distress as a function of time of measurement and condition.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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