title: Stigma by Any Other Name.
abstract: Some advocates argue that the word "stigma" is itself stigmatizing and contributes to further denigration of people with mental illness. This brief report presents results of a nationwide survey comparing terminology related to stigma in regard to mental illness.
  
  
  
  A total of 340 Amazon Mechanical Turk survey takers read variations of a vignette depicting an individual with schizophrenia and then completed a brief stigma measure. The vignette varied in a single sentence in which three different words-"stigma," "prejudice," and "reactions"-were used to describe coworkers' possible attitudes toward the depicted individual.
  
  
  
  Stigma ratings did not differ by vignette group. "Reactions" was viewed as significantly less disrespectful than both "stigma" and "prejudice" (p<.001).
  
  
  
  Further research is needed to support replacing the word "stigma" in public arenas. Current efforts to remove the word may unnecessarily distract advocates and policy makers from the primary mission of erasing stigma.
authors.affiliation: The authors are with the Department of Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois (e-mail: lsheehan@iit.edu ).
authors.forename: Lindsay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sheehan
authors.affiliation: The authors are with the Department of Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois (e-mail: lsheehan@iit.edu ).
authors.forename: Adam W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Fominaya
authors.affiliation: The authors are with the Department of Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois (e-mail: lsheehan@iit.edu ).
authors.forename: Andrea B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Bink
authors.affiliation: The authors are with the Department of Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois (e-mail: lsheehan@iit.edu ).
authors.forename: Dana J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Kraus
authors.affiliation: The authors are with the Department of Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois (e-mail: lsheehan@iit.edu ).
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: The authors are with the Department of Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois (e-mail: lsheehan@iit.edu ).
authors.forename: Patrick W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Corrigan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011287:Prejudice; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D057545:Social Stigma; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D055815:Young Adult