“You Can't Eat WHAT?” Managing the Stigma of Celiac Disease

Abstract

Drawing on modified labeling theory and the concept of symbolic entrapment, the goal of the current research is to examine the perceptions and management of stigma associated with Celiac Disease (CD). Through an assessment of life history narratives from a sample of adults with the disease, we find that the younger subjects who were most recently diagnosed with CD reported the most significant problems with disease-related stigma, social activities, and interpersonal relationships. Furthermore, we find that the subjects utilize a variety of stigma-management strategies to protect their pre-disease identities.