WASHINGTON — The lives of people living with disease and disability are worsened by stigma, thus leading to public prejudice and loss of self-worth, and causing negative implications for health and well-being. Erasing stigma has become a major health priority due to its egregious effects. Research on the stigma of disease and disability has skyrocketed over the past several decades, and such research is essential to fully understanding stigma and the mechanisms that might remedy it.
To be published on a quarterly basis, Stigma and Health (ISSN 2376-6972) serves as a venue for articles examining research representing stigma in its various guises (e.g., public stigma, self-stigma, label avoidance and structural stigma) as it impacts people living with mental and physical illness.
Stigma and Health publishes peer-reviewed, original research articles that may include tests of hypotheses about the form and impact of stigma, examination of strategies to decrease stigma's effects and survey research capturing stigma in populations. Stigma and Health especially welcomes research studies on methods meant to erase the stigma of mental and physical illnesses. Theoretical reviews and pioneering reports on innovations are also welcome. The journal publishes regular articles as well as brief reports.
As stated in the journal’s inaugural editorial, the true value of the research published in the journal lies in helping to replace stigma with affirming attitudes and behaviors that recognize the worth of personhood not diminished by illness or wellness and that acknowledge communal responsibilities for opportunities and accommodations that help people realize their goals.
More information about the journal as well as guidelines regarding submissions can be found on the journal’s homepage. Prospective contributors and subscribers are encouraged to visit the site.
The inaugural editor of Stigma and Health is Patrick W. Corrigan, PsyD, distinguished professor of psychology at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Previously, he was professor of psychiatry at the University of Chicago, where he directed the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. His research examines psychiatric disability and the impact of stigma on recovery and rehabilitation. Currently, he is principal investigator of the National Consortium on Stigma and Empowermentopens in new window (NCSE). Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, NCSE is a collaboration of investigators from more than a dozen research institutions. He is also principal investigator of current grants from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and he is conducting stigma research with support from the Department of Defense, the Veterans Administration and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Corrigan has authored or edited more than a dozen books, has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles and is editor emeritus of the American Journal of Psychiatric Rehabilitation.
Articles published in Stigma and Health will also be available through PsycARTICLES®, the most used full-text database in psychology and one of the most popular databases in all scholarly disciplines and fields. PsycARTICLES is available to a global audience of nearly 3,700 institutions and 80 million potential users.
The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes more than 122,500 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.