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Stigma Prevention and Health

An MPH student explored how stigma and gender identity are correlated with mental health problems in India.

Stigma affects all people at some point in life. The Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences brings together faculty, researchers, and students who are interested in understanding the social and psychological processes that keep marginalized individuals away from power, resources, status, and ultimately good health. We conduct research to understand how stigma affects the health of older adults (Levy), racial and ethnic minorities (Dovidio, Keene, Lowe), LGBTQ people (Pachankis), those people who reside in stigmatized locales (Keene), substance users (Wang), individuals with disabilities (Wang), mental health conditions (Lowe), and women globally (Miller). Our studies examine the impact of stigma on both physical health, including biological processes, and mental health. Our research seeks to reduce stigma through interpersonal (e.g., improving patient-provider interactions), psychological (e.g., developing stigma inoculation approaches), and structural (e.g., changing international laws and policies) interventions. Across our research, we seek to uncover and ultimately improve the societal contexts that create stigmas.

Faculty of Interest

  • Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences)

    Research Interests
    • Housing
    • Social Justice
    • Qualitative Research
    • Racism
    • Health Equity
  • Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences) and Psychology; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health

    Research Interests
    • Aging
    • Environment and Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Psychological Phenomena
    • Social Change
    • Social Justice
    • Social Sciences
    • Psychiatry and Psychology
    • Health Equity
  • Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences), Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Clinical Professor of Nursing; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health

    Research Interests
    • Anxiety Disorders
    • Mental Disorders
    • Disasters
    • Genetics, Behavioral
    • Mental Health Services
    • Psychological Phenomena
    • Psychology, Clinical
    • Rwanda
    • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
    • Mood Disorders
    • Substance-Related Disorders
    • Stress Disorders, Traumatic, Acute
    • Resilience, Psychological
    • Disaster Victims
    • Psychiatry and Psychology
    • Psychological Trauma
    • Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders
    • Exposure to Violence
    • Gender-Based Violence
  • Assistant Professor of Clinical Public Health (Social & Behavioral Sciences); Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health

    Research Interests
    • HIV
    • Human Rights
  • Susan Dwight Bliss Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences), Professor of Psychology and Professor of Psychiatry; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health

    Research Interests
    • Anxiety
    • Behavioral Sciences
    • Depression
    • HIV
    • Mental Health
    • Social Behavior
    • Social Change
    • Social Conditions
    • Social Sciences
    • Behavioral Research
    • Social Stigma