Stigma & PlaceZaher Sbai

Reggie Carillo Arlis Jenkins Monica Trejo

Abstract The influence of stigma on place was evaluated, through locals’ perception and experience. Personal interviews and structured surveys were administered to local residents throughout the Phoenix metro area using convenience and random sampling. Results show that stigma is shaped through various environmental and social factors including socio-economic location, quality of neighborhoods, infrastructure, education, employment status, levels of poverty, household income, marital status, and demographics.

Research Question

How does perception and experience shape stigma in relation to place?

Background Information

Stigmatization is a social construct that involves the initial recognition of a particular characteristic found in an individual that is then devalued by another. Other prevalent definitions describe the importance that context has in determining the likelihood and extent that an individual will be stigmatized (Heatherton, 2000). Place, in this instance, refers to the physical environment one may call their neighborhood, or residential community. Place is stigmatized by an individuals’ recognition of socio-economic status; levels of poverty increase the amount of disorder within the community (Sampson et. al, 2005). 

In the United States, the burden of stigma has immense influence on behavior, attitude, and emotion. One’s place of residence is an essential aspect that U.S. citizens use to identify themselves. Being able to relate these two topics and understand that they are not mutually exclusive entities helps to change the current discourse so that discussion ultimately can start addressing how stigma affects place.

Methods

Personal interviews and structured surveys were administered to local residents throughout the Phoenix metro area using convenient sampling. First, free-listing was used as a method to determine the participants perceived “best” and “worst” neighborhoods within the Phoenix metro area--Stigma was typically associated with the perceived “worst” neighborhoods. Results concluded that Scottsdale was the perceived “best” neighborhood, and South Phoenix was overall perceived as the “worst”.  A second structured survey was administered to residents in both neighborhoods using a free-listing method to determine the resident’s perception of their own neighborhood as well as the contrasting area. In the third structured survey, residents responded to questions regarding specific features, health risks, and environmental hazards. Literature reviews were also conducted, regarding social and environmental perspectives on stigma.

Data Collected/ Analyzed:•Demographic Information•Perceptions/experiences from local residents•Levels of Satisfaction of Neighborhood features•Sense of Belonging to the Neighborhood•Level of impact individuals have on community•Information on Friends, Family, and Neighbors•Daily lifestyle

A Place to Call Home: Identification with dwelling, community, and region 

The research study of place, environment, and its identity has been conducted by Lee Cuba and David Hummon; it analyzes the residents of three towns in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. They administered 523 surveys, discussing a variety of topics, such as social activity, demographic information, and migration to different locations. The results implied that environmental and social factors, such as demographics and culture, are the root factors of discrimination in many places. It is essential to analyze the demographic qualities of the neighborhood residents, as well as to interpret ‘residential affiliations’ in order to identify a community. It was also noted that the participation by the locals is very significant in order to promote a regional identity in a social-spatial environment.

Research indicates that environmental and social factors of a community, or neighborhood, are the root factors of discrimination, or stigma. Environmental factors include demographic information, geographic region, infrastructure, social settings, and even migration to different locations--all of which can influence stigma in a neighborhood (Cuba, 1993; Hummon, 1993). 

Other studies, like that of Sampson and Sharky (2008), reveal that neighborhood conditions and stigma were based off of many aspects, such as ethnicity and socioeconomic status in relation to location.

In regards to the research question concerning stigma and place, we saw much stigma shaped by locals’ experiences and perceptions of their own neighborhood, especially in areas where respondents indicated a high level of dissatisfaction of many features in their neighborhood. We also saw a push for reform within the community in regards to environmental factors, such as; walkable streets, safety, quality of parks, homes, yards, and transportation methods (bus/ light rail). In regards to social factors, of low socio-economic locations, there was more diversity, according to the perceptions from local residents.

INTRODUCTION

METHODS

RESULTSConvenience Sampling: Structured Surveys Conducted in the Phoenix Metro Area

Environmental Hazards and Health Risks

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Air pollution Pesticides Dirty PublicSpaces

Litter ortrash

Vandalism Drugs

Environmental issues

Little/ No Problem

Big Problem

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

The appearances ofhomes and yards

Safety The quality of parksand common

spaces

The helpfulness ofneighbors

Neighborhood Features

Perceived Disorder in Neighborhood Features

Satisfied

Unsatisfied

CASE STUDY

CONCLUSION

 Cuba, L, Hummon, D. (1993). A Place to call home: Identification with dwelling, community and region. Sociological Quarterly, 34(3), 111-131. 

Heatherton, T. F., (2000) The social psychology of stigma. New York, NY: The Guilford Press A Division of Guilford Publications, Inc.         Sampson, R, Sharkey, P. (2008). Neighborhood Selection and the social reproduction of concentrated racial inequality, Demography, 45(1), 1-29.

SOURCES