concealable stigmatized identity & mental health
As they navigate their local contexts with these tasks in mind, they are also looking out for stigma, which can lead them to conceal (not disclose or making efforts to keep their features/labels/identities hidden from others). While personally agentic, allowing people to avoid discrimination, concealment can have social consequences, particularly in the aggregate. The more that similarly-stigmatized others in the social environment conceal, the less likely it is that individuals will encounter groups members who might facilitate identity development. Using a social-developmental lens, I have examined how less access to group members contributes distress for individuals with concealable stigmatized identities.
Stigma describes the process by which human features are made socially-salient, with some variation in those features labeled, essentialized, and negatively-stereotyped (Link & Phelan, 2001). Stigma has been theorized to determine identity (Goffman, 1963; Quinn & Chaudoir, 2009), changing how individuals think and feel about themselves.
When people are stigmatized along concealable features (e.g., people reporting adverse childhood experiences), identity development can be a significant challenge: the very construction of identity around these labeled features is a core determinant of psychological distress (i.e., everyday symptoms of depression and anxiety). Yet, many people are driven to develop identity—to understand and feel good about their labeled features, and they will look for opportunities to do so, including connecting with similarly-stigmatized others.