Social distance between self and stigmatized others.

Abstract

The study examines the social distance subjects put between themselves and ten categories of stigmatized individuals. Subjects were 232 randomly selected undergraduates of the University of Ife, Nigeria. Data for the study was gathered through self-administered questionnaires. The results indicate that the stigma repulsing the subjects most were quadriplegia and epilepsy and the stigma to which they responded most favourably was ugliness. There was a significant rela tionship between sex and social distance with females forming a larger percentage of subjects with high social distance scores. Social distance was also found to be related to functional limitedness of the stigma and the degree of projected intimacy between subjects and the stigmatized. The study concludes by suggesting that further research in the area of attitude towards the stigmatized should differentiate between the cognitive, affective and activity components of the normal's reac tion to the stigmatized.