Health Behaviors and Social Stigma: Stereotypes, Devaluation, and Social Distance

• In Event: 20820 - Section on Medical Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 15. Stigma

Abstract

Stigma surrounding health lifestyles plays a crucial role in shaping social perceptions, yet little is known about how different combinations of health behaviors influence stigma. This study employs a factorial experimental design to examine how seven dimensions of health lifestyles, along with gender and age, affect perceptions of warmth, competence, devaluation, and social distance. Using a fractional factorial design with vignettes, I systematically assess the independent and interactive effects of various health behaviors on social stigma.

The results indicate that opioid use and heavy drinking are the most stigmatized health behaviors, leading to significantly lower perceptions of warmth and competence, as well as higher levels of devaluation and social distance. In contrast, engaging in socially encouraged health behaviors, such as regular exercise, enhances positive social perceptions. However, the findings suggest that avoiding socially proscribed behaviors, such as avoiding opioid use or heavy drinking, has a greater impact on reducing negative social perceptions than engaging in socially encouraged behaviors. These results underscore the asymmetric nature of stigma in health lifestyles, highlighting that the absence of negative behaviors is more influential in mitigating stigma than the presence of positive behaviors.

This study contributes to the understanding of health lifestyle stigma by demonstrating the differential effects of engaging in versus avoiding specific health behaviors. The findings have implications for public health messaging and stigma reduction efforts, emphasizing the importance of addressing the social consequences of proscribed health behaviors.

Author

• Bing Han, Purdue University