Resources /Shame, Blame, and Contamination: A Review of the Impact of Mental Illness Stigma on Family Members

Shame, Blame, and Contamination: A Review of the Impact of Mental Illness Stigma on Family Members by Patrick W. Corrigan and Frederick E. Miller

"In his classic text, Goffman (1963) defined courtesy stigma as the negative impact that results from association with a person who is marked by a stigma. Family members of relatives with mental illness are frequently harmed by this kind of stigma. Using a social cognitive model of mental illness stigma, we review ways in which various family roles (e.g., parents, siblings, spouses) are impacted by family stigma. We distinguish between public stigma (the impact wrought by subsets of the general population that prejudge and discriminate against family members) and vicarious stigma (suffering the stigma experienced by relatives with mental illness)."

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