Active coping efforts temper negative attributions of disability stigma.

Abstract

The current research examined attributional evaluations and health perceptions of targets with various disabilities and explored the role that government assistance and coping played in shaping these ratings across three studies. Participants were recruited from Amazon’s MTurk (n = 163, 200, and 180, respectively). Participants read vignettes describing three women with disabilities (cardiovascular disease, depression, and pain; Study 1). In Study 2, this information was standardized to explore disability differences attributed to the disability, and in Study 3, specific information about coping was also presented. Across all three studies, government assistance was not predictive of attributional evaluations or health perceptions. However, in two of the three studies, disabilities did differ in attributional evaluations and health perceptions. Specifically, cardiovascular disease was rated the harshest. Coping also led to differences in attributional evaluations and health perceptions with targets who did not cope at all receiving the harshest ratings, while targets who actively coped receiving the kindest ratings, and this was independent of disability. Results suggest that information about stigma onset and offset are both important in the attributional process whether implicit in the disability or explicitly stated in the vignette as coping. These results may inform stigma reduction efforts and future research.

Reactions to depression disclosure on Facebook: Evaluating the effects of self-presentation style and peer comments.

“…Across two studies, we consistently found poor coping elicited greater social distance than good coping. This is consistent with our expectation and previous findings (Key & Vaughn, 2019;Silver et al, 1990). In line with social exchange and evolutionary perspectives of stigma (Kurzban & Leary, 2001;Overton & Medina, 2008), a poor coper may be perceived as inept at following social norms and unable to contribute to others' well-being.…”

“…This is likely because individuals often expect a person experiencing negative life situations, including stigmatizing ones (e.g., mental illness), to take responsibility and manage the current negative situation (Weiner, 1993). When targets do not exert the effort to manage the problem, they are evaluated more harshly and blamed more (Black et al, 2014; Key & Vaughn, 2019), potentially leading to rejection and avoidance (Dakof & Taylor, 1990; Dyregrov, 2004). CMC research also provides some evidence that posts with negative content, and by extension, poor coping, may not elicit a supportive response.…”

Testing two models of stigma for birth mothers of a child with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

“…However, navigating respite care for children with FASD can be challenging as well (Doig et al, 2009). In doing so, though, a birth mother’s efforts to cope with her child’s FASD would result in a tempering effect of causal attributions and a bolstering effect of helping, compared to birth mothers who make little to no effort in finding the requisite assistance (Key & Vaughn, in press). Ultimately, helping these mothers translates into helping their child, and until prevention efforts curtail FASD completely, help may be the most important resource for these birth mothers and their children.…”