Keywords
Stigma; Borderline Personality Disorder; Intersectionality; BPD; Gender; Race
Abstract
Stigma surrounding mental health reduces treatment-seeking behaviors and can worsen symptoms. Research on stigma surrounding borderline personality disorder (BPD) has shown that race and gender can impact the nature of the stigma associated with the disorder; however, less is known about the interaction between the two. This study investigated if stigma varies when considering both the race and gender of the stigmatized individual simultaneously. 218 undergraduate students read one of four vignettes describing either a Black male, White male, Black female, or White female, then completed the Attribution Questionnaire-20 (AQ-20) stigma scale. The results indicate that there is a statistically significant main effect of gender on fear ratings of the person with BPD (p < .001, ηp2 = .05), as well as negative emotions harbored towards the person with BPD (p = .038, ηp2 = .02). However, there appears to be no significant effect of race or gender when considering if a person should be forced into treatment and if an individual would help the person with BPD. These results identify different demographic cues that contribute to fear of people with BPD, which can be used for initiatives to reduce stigma.
Thesis Completion Year
2026
Thesis Completion Semester
Spring
Thesis Chair
White, Grace
College
College of Sciences
Department
Department of Psychology
Thesis Discipline
Psychology
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Length of Campus Access
None
Campus Location
Orlando (Main) Campus
STARS Citation
Samet, Joshua, "An Investigation Of The Impact Of Gender And Race On The Stigmatization Of Borderline Personality Disorder" (2026). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 479.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hut2024/479
Included in
Clinical Psychology Commons, Cognition and Perception Commons, Social Psychology Commons
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