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Review
. 2014 Sep 25;1(1):2055102914552281.
doi: 10.1177/2055102914552281. eCollection 2014 Jul.

Identity threat and stigma in cancer patients

Sarah Knapp  1 , Allison Marziliano  2 , Anne Moyer  2
Affiliations
Review

Identity threat and stigma in cancer patients

Sarah Knapp et al. Health Psychol Open. .

Abstract

Cancer stigma has undergone an important transformation in recent decades. In general, this disease no longer fits squarely into Goffman's classic taxonomy of stigmatized conditions. This review will demonstrate that, with important adaptations, an identity-threat model of stigma can be used to organize cancer stigma research post-Goffman. This adapted model postulates that one's personal attributions, responses to situational threat, and disease/treatment characteristics can be used to predict identity threat and well-being of individuals with cancer. Implications for further research and clinical practice are discussed.

Keywords: attributions; cancer; identity threat; stigma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Contributors to identity-threat appraisals in cancer. Source: Adapted from Major and O’Brien (2005: 398).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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