Labelling And Stigmatization Flashcards
A ____ is a name that represents something
Label
A label can be scientific
A medical diagnosis: Down syndrome, multiple sclerosis
A label can be social
Peoples understanding of a situation or behaviour or assumption (slow, stupid)
What’s type of label does medicine use to identify a group of symptoms
Diagnosis label
A label is important socially because it can lead to
Stigma
Stigma is?
Label in action: discrimination, underestimation
if a person with dementia is labelled as “slow” then others will behave towards this person as he/she is slow even if she/she is not
This shows that Labels are dangerous when used like stigma
What makes a condition stigmatizing
A condition is NOT stigmatizing automatically, it only is stigmatizing when it dissociates the person with the condition from other people in any way and when it makes the possessor feel shame for having it.
Examples of diseases given stigmatizing labels
HIV, Down syndrome, epilepsy
Stigma may “spoil the sufferer’s identity” It may result in a self-fulfilling prophecy. Explain this
if a person with dementia is labelled as “slow” then others will behave towards this person as he/she is
slow even if she/she is not.
The person may start understanding his/her self as slow.
Stigma can lead to
Low self esteem
Low self efficacy
The Patient Less likely to seek medical help
The patient less likely to adhere/stick to therapy
What is the importance about doctors knowing about stigma / stigmatizing conditions
- helps doctors communicate better with their patients
- understand more abt their patients, leading to patient accepting care more
- knowing that stigma could lead to chronic stress making you know that ur patient could have other health problems do to the chronic stress
Do clinicians stigmatize patients
There are 2 cases where this happens
Indirectly like under estimating their patients capability to understand and directly like refusing treating a patient with HIV
List ways we can reduce stigma and its effects on patients
Educating people from a young age
Inform the public about the nature, commonness/ epidemiology and causes of the disease/ disability
Educate people on what stigma is and what it could do to people
Train healthcare professionals and address stigmatizing behaviour
Educate patients how to deal w stigma
Why are labels made
In order to understand and control somethings unusual or act like u do understand it
Anything being called a form of deviance is due to it being
Far from the social norm (the common)
There are two types of deviance list the
Primary and secondary
Primary deviance?
Having a condition but not yet being medically diagnosed and labelled (the absence of an official label will not activate social reactions)
Secondary deviance?
The presence of a condition and it beings officially medically diagnosed (labelled), or labelled socially when the condition becomes known by the public (labelling = social reactions)
Why is a label imp
A label is important socially because it can lead to stigma and draw the boundaries between the labelled and those who are labelling
____ is the practical consequence of labelling
Stigma
To sum up look at the photo
What are the types of stigma
Enacted
Felt
Courtesy
Enacted= actual discrimination
give an example
Refused employment due to having a condition
Felt= internalized negative feelings regarding ones self
Give an example
Feeling useless due to having a condition
Courtesy= stigma by association
Give an example
Discrimination against a relative or the relative feels shame and guilt (basically 3rd party experiences shit)
3 situations of stigmatization are
Discredited
Obtrusiveness
Discreditable
Discredited situation of stigmatization:
Others know and stigmatize
Example: a person with Down’s syndrome is denied employment because his/her condition is known to potential employers
Obtrusiveness situation with stigmatization
Different environments elicit different degrees of stigmatization
Example: a person on a wheel chair in a party compared to at the caf is more likely to be stigmatized because the party environment makes the wheelchair stand out more
Discreditable situation of stigmatization
Others don’t know and the sufferer is afraid
Example: a person w HIV may be afraid to disclose his health status.
Discredited
Obtrusiveness
Discreditable
Others know and stigmatize
Different environments effect the degree of stigmatization
Others don’t know and sufferer is scared not disclose it
So again what are the three types of stigma and 3 situations
3 types
Enacted
Felt
Courtesy
3 situations
Discredited
Obtrusiveness
Discreditable
What are the different ways sufferers respond to sigma
Change their appearance whether its their fashion, their hair, their body, etc.
Place emphasis on other parts of themselves, their capabilities, talents, efforts, showing their more than just a disease/disability
Present their experience as inspiring, saying it has changed their way of thinking through this experience, made them know the real imp of life
Case
Christina visits a GP because her diabetes is out of control. When take social history from her, the GP finds
out about the following:
“I am 30 years old and my son has Down’s Syndrome. People call my son retarded. They don’t want him, their children avoid playing with him. This is so disappointing and frustrating. I had bad experiences with people who did not even want to have a relationship with me. I prefer others do not know my son has Down’s syndrome. I only want to socialise with other families with children who have the same syndrome.
guilty.”
What kind of social relations caused Christina’s to feel sad?
Kids not wanting to be his friend/ play with her son and people calling him retarded
Has Christina’s son been labelled?
Yes.
Medically he is labelled with Down syndrome.
Socially he was labelled as retarded.
People are using the social label as a basis for their action and may mis use the scientific medical label to justify their actions.
CASE CONTINUES…
The GP asks Christina to tell him whether she is doing anything that helps her feel better. Christina replies:
“Well, yes. Sometimes I dress my son smartly, he wears a suit, I want him to look nice.”
Why has this action caused Christina to feel better?
To show she cares for her son, and to dress him up smart so when others look at him he isn’t perceived as what people stigmatize him to be (retarded)
she is responding to the stigma by using the change their body/appearance method
What types of stigma can you identify
Enacted (discrimination): the child is refused social interaction by other children
What situations of stigmatization have they found themselves in (keep in mined that the situations are applicable for both the person with the disease/disability and the 2nd party)
Discredited: others know and have stigmatized them both
Obtrusiveness: the mother prefers socializing only with other families with children with down’s in order to reduce Obtrusiveness
Discreditable: the mother does not want others to know so that her and her son aren’t stigmatized even more
How does the mother respond to stigma
Change of body: she tried to changes her sons appearance/body whatever by dressing him smartly
Christina has a son with Down’s syndrome. Due to her son’s condition, some friends have stopped calling and socialising with her, who now feels shame for having a child with DS.What is the most likely type of stigma has she experienced?
Enacted stigma
Felt stigma
Courtesy stigma
Stigma of character
Stigma of the body
Enacted and felt are only applied towards the persons the disability/disease
Stigma of character we did not take
Stigma of the body we did not take, we took change of body which is when someone changes their appearance and is one of the 3 ways of dealing with stigma.
Courtesy stigma is correct because it is the 2nd party experiencing discrimination.