How does stigma "get under the skin"?: the mediating role of emotion regulation.
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.
Hatzenbuehler
Mark L
ML
Yale University, Psychology Department, P.O. Box 208205, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. mark.hatzenbuehler@yale.edu
Nolen-Hoeksema
Susan
S
Dovidio
John
J
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D012934:Social Isolation / Q000523:psychology; D012944:Social Support; D013240:Stereotyping; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D055815:Young Adult