Abstract
Over the prior decade, structural change efforts have become an important component of community-based HIV prevention initiatives.
However, these efforts may not succeed when structural change initiatives encounter political resistance or invoke conflicting
values, which may be likely when changes are intended to benefit a stigmatized population. The current study sought to examine
the impact of target population stigma on the ability of 13 community coalitions to achieve structural change objectives.
Results indicated that coalitions working on behalf of highly stigmatized populations had to abandon objectives more often
than did coalitions working for less stigmatized populations because of external opposition to coalition objectives and resultant
internal conflict over goals. Those coalitions that were most successful in meeting external challenges used opposition and
conflict as transformative occasions by targeting conflicts directly and attempting to neutralize oppositional groups or turn
them into strategic allies; less successful coalitions working on behalf of stigmatized groups struggled to determine an appropriate
response to opposition. The role of conflict transformation as a success strategy for working on behalf of stigmatized groups
is discussed.
However, these efforts may not succeed when structural change initiatives encounter political resistance or invoke conflicting
values, which may be likely when changes are intended to benefit a stigmatized population. The current study sought to examine
the impact of target population stigma on the ability of 13 community coalitions to achieve structural change objectives.
Results indicated that coalitions working on behalf of highly stigmatized populations had to abandon objectives more often
than did coalitions working for less stigmatized populations because of external opposition to coalition objectives and resultant
internal conflict over goals. Those coalitions that were most successful in meeting external challenges used opposition and
conflict as transformative occasions by targeting conflicts directly and attempting to neutralize oppositional groups or turn
them into strategic allies; less successful coalitions working on behalf of stigmatized groups struggled to determine an appropriate
response to opposition. The role of conflict transformation as a success strategy for working on behalf of stigmatized groups
is discussed.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-15
- DOI 10.1007/s10464-011-9465-7
- Authors
- Robin Lin Miller, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Sarah J. Reed, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Vincent T. Francisco, Department of Public Health Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA
- Jonathan M. Ellen, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
- The ATN 079 Protocol Team for the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions
- Journal American Journal of Community Psychology
- Online ISSN 1573-2770
- Print ISSN 0091-0562