Stigma Reduction towards social minorities 

 

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• Longitudinal study on studying the relationship between collective action, social justice and Buddhism derived concepts

  • Mindfulness was widely studied in the recent decades and shown to be able to promote personal well-being and reduce psychological distress. The other Buddhism-derived concepts, such as compassion and interconnectedness, were also found to be able to promote social justice and motivation to advocate for the well-being of other people. Despite the common origination, they were rarely studied together. The present study aims to study how these concepts’ temporal relations to personal well-being, well-being of collectives, intention to advocate for the right of people in social minority groups and stigma on people with mental illness and people in LGBTQ community. ​

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• Meta-analysis of stigma reduction programs

  • In the recent decades, numerous programs have been put forth in the attempt to reduce stigma. The present study aims to summarize the effects of published studies on their efforts to reduce stigma for HIV/AIDS and mental illness. To date, studies on HIV/AIDS stigma reduction programs have been coded and analysis is underway. The team continues to code articles related to stigma reduction for mental illness. 

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• Engaging the majority in anti-stigma collective action: An extension of the social identity model of collective action

  • As a response to the stigmatization and oppression toward social minorities, collective action for minority rights has received growing attention. Collaborative efforts between majority and minority groups are considered to be more powerful in bringing about significant systemic changes than minority groups alone. This study aims at examining the motivational mechanisms of the majority groups’ participation in anti-stigma collective action for equal rights for social minorities. Findings will inform the society on the ways to engage majority groups to promote equal rights and to challenge the systemic disadvantages of the social minorities to truly embrace the diversity in society. The study period is from May 2015 to April 2016. This study is funded by the Direct Grant of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.​