Racial variation in reaction to physical stigma: a study of degree of disturbance by vitiligo among black and white patients.

The effect of race on reaction to impaired appearance is explored in a sample of 158 patients with vitiligo, a disfiguring skin disease. Blacks and Whites do not differ in degree of disturbance by the disorder. Psychological coping resources and variables related to negative labeling of the stigma are associated with variation in degree of disturbance. Self-esteem and perceived stigmatization are associated significantly with degree of disturbance among both Blacks and Whites. Gender, age, and visibility of the condition are not related to difference in degree of disturbance within either race, although there is some evidence that they may have an indirect relationship to degree of disturbance. Importance of appearance is associated with degree of disturbance for Whites only, because of the threat of the depigmentation induced by vitiligo to the racial identity of Blacks. The implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.