5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

Dating back to Goffman´s foundational work, sociologists have been interested in stigma associated with various conditions. Individuals and groups can be stigmatized due to multiple factors, including mental illnesses. Previous work has shown that stigma of mental illness is related to various factors, including type of illness, who is experiencing the illness, the attributed causes of the condition and personal experience of mental health problems. In this section, we welcome papers that focus on explanations and experiences of stigma within and across countries. We particularly invite papers that explore intersectionalities in stigma experiences, both in terms of the identity of the person who is stigmatized as well as in whether and how certain coexisting conditions may increase stigma. We are also interested in papers with practical and policy implications, in particular papers where attention is paid to how our scientific knowledge about stigma processes may be translated into stigma reduction programs within and across societies.