Psychosocial Aspects of the Stigma of Cancer

Abstract

This article explores aspects of the stigma of cancer using the social-psychological model of victimization. The model is supported with empirical data from in-depth interviews conducted with 53 cancer patients and their spouses over a three-year period to assess multiple aspects of psychosocial adaptation and coping and experiences of stigma. Additional support for the model consists of data from a survey of 371 college students' attitudes toward cancer using a stigma inventory. Variables that affect attitudes toward cancer and mediate patients' experiences of stigma are explored, and findings are discussed in the context of several ideas that contribute to an understanding of the phenomenon of psychosocial morbidity, including role and family systems theories and the "just world" hypothesis.