Becoming known: Disclosure and exposure of (in)visible difference.

Sharratt, Nicholas D; Williamson, Heidi; Zucchelli, Fabio; Kiff, James

Abstract

Bodily or physical differences constitute a class of potentially stigmatized characteristics. The existing literature confirms that those with appearance altering or disfiguring conditions (“visible differences”) may experience both felt and enacted stigma and seek to conceal their difference. Furthermore, issues relating to the disclosure or revelation of visible difference are frequently cited. The present study used qualitative methods to explore participants’ experiences of having disclosed otherwise unknown or hidden visible differences to others and considered these experiences within the context of existing theories of the disclosure of stigmatized characteristics. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 participants who had a variety of visible differences. The data were analyzed through inductive thematic analysis with the resultant themes indicating participants’ concerns and anxieties related to disclosing their differences, variable levels of agency within, preparation for, and control over the disclosure scenario, the importance of their difference being seen by others, and the personal and interpersonal changes that disclosure could facilitate. In consideration of participants’ experiences of the disclosure of visible difference and the applicability of existing models of disclosure to this scenario, a working framework that incorporates the specific issues relevant to the disclosure of visible differences is proposed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 19, 2019
• Publication Date: 2020
• Deposit Date: Nov 19, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 5, 2019
• Journal: Stigma and Health
• Print ISSN: 2376-6972
• Electronic ISSN: 2376-6964
• Publisher: American Psychological Association
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 5
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 413-424
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/sah0000212
• Keywords: visible difference; appearance; stigma; disclosure; thematic analysis
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/4704904
• Publisher URL: https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/sah/index