Hing Nerilee, Russell Alex M T
Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University Bundaberg, QLD, Australia.
Front Psychol. 2017 Feb 21;8:235. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00235. eCollection 2017.
The degree to which anticipated and experienced public stigma contribute to self-stigma remains open to debate, and little research has been conducted into the self-stigma of problem gambling. This study aimed to examine which aspects of anticipated and experienced stigma (if any) predict the anticipated level of public stigma associated with problem gambling and the degree of self-stigma felt by people experiencing problem gambling. An online survey of 177 Australians experiencing problem gambling examined whether aspects of the public characterization of problem gambling, anticipated reactions to problem gamblers, and experiences of devaluation and discrimination predicted anticipated level of public stigma and self-stigma. The study found that self-stigma increases with expectations that the public applies a range of negative stereotypes to people with gambling problems, holds demeaning and discriminatory attitudes toward them, and considers them to lead highly disrupted lives. These variables directly predicted anticipated level of public stigma and indirectly predicted self-stigma. These findings lend weight to conceptualizations of self-stigma as an internalization of actual or anticipated public stigma. They also highlight the need for stigma reduction efforts, particularly those that lower negative stereotyping and prejudicial attitudes, to improve currently low rates of help-seeking amongst people with gambling problems.
预期的公众污名和实际经历的公众污名在多大程度上导致自我污名仍有待讨论，而且针对问题赌博的自我污名的研究很少。本研究旨在探讨预期污名和实际经历污名的哪些方面（如果有的话）能够预测与问题赌博相关的预期公众污名水平，以及经历问题赌博的人所感受到的自我污名程度。一项对177名经历问题赌博的澳大利亚人进行的在线调查，考察了问题赌博的公众特征、对问题赌徒的预期反应以及贬低和歧视经历等方面，是否能预测预期的公众污名水平和自我污名。研究发现，随着人们预期公众会对有赌博问题的人施加一系列负面刻板印象、对他们持有贬低和歧视态度，并认为他们的生活极度混乱，自我污名会增加。这些变量直接预测了预期的公众污名水平，并间接预测了自我污名。这些发现为将自我污名概念化为实际或预期公众污名的内化提供了支持。它们还强调了减少污名化努力的必要性，特别是那些降低负面刻板印象和偏见态度的努力，以提高目前问题赌博者中较低的求助率。
