Stigma Resistance and Well-Being in the Context of the Mental Illness Identity

Abstract

We use a perceptual control model of identity to examine the relationship between stigmatized appraisals (from self and other) and well-being among individuals with serious mental illness. We also examine the role of stigma resistance strategies in the identity process. Using in-depth interviews with active clients of a community mental health center (N = 156), we find that deflection, or distancing oneself from mental illness, is associated with greater self-esteem and fewer depressive symptoms. Challenging others through education is associated with higher self-esteem, and challenging stigma through activism is associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Activism also moderates the relationship between identity discrepancy (the difference between appraisals from self and other) and well-being; however, the extent to which activism is helpful or harmful depends on whether appraisals from others are more or less stigmatizing than self-views. We discuss the implications of these findings for identity and stigma research.