1: Stigma Reconsidered.- Social Science Contributions and Dilemmas in the Study of Stigma.- Stigma as a Social Construct.- The Impact of Stigma on the Individual.- Limitations on Conceptual and Analytic Categories.- Disciplinary Limits to Theory Building.- Developing a Multidisciplinary Approach.- I. Stigma and Social Marginality.- 2: Stigma, Justice and the Dilemma of Difference.- Typification and Difference.- Toward a Typology of Human Difference.- Stigma and Justice.- Stigma and Justice: Implications for Research.- 3: Stigma as a Social and Cultural Construct.- The Universality of Stigma.- The Cultural Basis of Stigma.- Stigma in Sociohistorical Perspective.- Stigma and Societal Assumptions.- Stigma and Structural Inequality.- Individual Experience of Stigma in a Sociocultural Context.- Stigma and Social Change.- Destigmatization.- Conclusion.- 4: Stigma and Western Culture: A Historical Approach.- Corporeal Imagery.- Stigmatization of Heretics, Homosexuals, and Jews.- Structural Similarities in Stigmatization.- Conclusion.- 5: Stigma, Deviance, and Social Control: Some Conceptual Issues.- Definitions of Stigma.- An Alternative Definition: Stigma and Deviance.- Measuring Stigmas.- Social Control.- Summary and Conclusions.- II. The Stigmatizing Process.- 6: Stigma and the Dynamics of Social Cognition.- Introduction: Cognitive Approaches in the Study of Stigma.- The Origins of Social Thought about the Stigmatized.- Functioning and Consequences of the Social Cognition of Stigma.- Changing the Cognition of Stigma.- Conclusions: Cognitive Approaches in the Study of Stigma.- 7: Stigma and Interpersonal Relations.- Stigma and Morality.- Relationships between Disabled Persons and Others.- Relationships among Stigmatized Persons.- Peer Support Groups.- Conclusion.- 8: Stigma: A Social Learning Perspective.- The Social Learning of Stigma.- The Social Learning of Stigma across the Life Cycle.- The Development of Beliefs, Attitudes, and Values.- Social Learning and Stigma: A Multidisciplinary Perspective.- Conclusion: The Perpetuation of Stigma in Society.- 9: Family Experience of Stigma in Childhood Cancer.- Childhood Cancer as a Form of Stigma.- Stigma and Family Functioning.- Stigma as a Family Experience.- Altered Status of the Child in the Family.- Altered Status of the Child in the Community.- Stereotypes of Children with Cancer.- Childhood Cancer as a Master Status.- Self-Perceptions of Stigmatized Persons.- Reactions to Social Encounters with Stigmatized Persons.- Altered Family Relations and Functioning.- Altered Status of the Family in the Community.- Conclusion.- 10: Stigmatization in Childhood: A Survey of Developmental Trends and Issues.- Developmental Issues.- Developmental Theory and Stigma.- The Early Origins of Stigmatization in Infancy.- Developmental Trends in Stigmatization over Childhood.- Reactions to Physical and Mental Disabilities.- Summary and Implications.- III. Stigma, Continuity, and Change.- 11: Stigma: An Enigma Demystified.- The Dilemma.- The Origins of Stigma.- Stigma as a Form of Cognitive Processing.- The Meaning of Stigma for Social Relations.- Fear and Stigma.- Conclusion.- References.