The DOI matches its Crossref record; 54 of the 54 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Undignified Dignity: Using Humor to Manage the Stigma of Mental Illness and Homelessness
Abstract
Research on stigma has generally focused on either how stigmatized individuals manage their stigmatizing traits, how stigmatizing messages are communicated, or on how education and contact campaigns reduce the degree of stigma. This article seeks to expand on the communication stigma literature by arguing that stigmatized and unstigmatized individuals are able to co-manage stigmatizing traits through the cocreation of a culture of individualized dignity. Specifically, this ethnographic study examines the use of humor at a homeless shelter that caters to individuals with severe mental illness to create a culture of “undignified dignity.” The findings highlight how even complex stigmas may be ameliorated through a focus on dignity as a bridging medium between stigmatized and unstigmatized individuals.
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“Openly joking about stigmatizing traits, including illness, queer identities, and homelessness, reduced the negative valence of the attached emotions, reducing stigma and enabling nuanced conversations about their experiences.”
From Is it Still Ok to be Ok? Mental Health Labels as a Campus Technology (2023) · cites this paper as Jensen 2018
In the citing paper
“Jensen’s study (2018) illustrated how joking about mental illness in a homeless shelter allowed staff and service users to have frank discussions about these stigmatizing traits.”
From Is it Still Ok to be Ok? Mental Health Labels as a Campus Technology (2023) · cites this paper as Jensen 2018
Citations
Cites
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Cited by
Wieland, S. M. B. (2020) · Management Communication Quarterly · doi:10.1177/0893318920949314 · Cited by 33
Karadzhov, D., Yuan, Y., & Bond, L. (2019) · Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing · doi:10.1111/jpm.12524 · Cited by 26
Huffman, T. (2018) · Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless · doi:10.1080/10530789.2018.1445507 · Cited by 23
Choudhary, N., SturtzSreetharan, C., Trainer, S. S., Brewis, A., Wutich, A., Clancy, K. B. H., Fatima, U. A., & Hossain, M. J. (2023) · Global Public Health · doi:10.1080/17441692.2023.2233996 · Cited by 17
A Case Study Using Shame Resilience Theory: Walking Each Other Home
Ryan-Dedominicis, T. (2020) · Clinical Social Work Journal · doi:10.1007/s10615-019-00745-9 · Cited by 17
Marshall, C. A., Phillips, B., Holmes, J., Todd, E., Hill, R., Panter, G., Easton, C., Landry, T., Collins, S., Greening, T., et al. (2023) · International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being · doi:10.1080/17482631.2023.2176979 · Cited by 16
Meisenbach, R. J., Rick, J. M., & Brandhorst, J. K. (2018) · Nonprofit Management and Leadership · doi:10.1002/nml.21332 · Cited by 14
Is it Still Ok to be Ok? Mental Health Labels as a Campus Technology
Armstrong, N., Beswick, L., & Vega, M. O. (2023) · Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s11013-023-09819-3 · Cited by 13
Defining dignity at the intersection of disability: a scoping review
Chapman, K., Dixon, A., Kendall, E., & Clanchy, K. (2024) · Disability and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1080/09638288.2024.2302582 · Cited by 12
Resurrecting and Appending Identities: The Role of Nonprofits in Managing Stigmatized Identity
Okamoto, K. E., & Peterson, B. L. (2021) · Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly · doi:10.1177/08997640211007209 · Cited by 7
Jury, R. (2022) · Journal of Family Violence · doi:10.1007/s10896-022-00369-7 · Cited by 7
Mars, S. G., Koester, K. A., Ondocsin, J., Mars, V., Mars, G., & Ciccarone, D. (2022) · Culture Medicine and Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s11013-022-09769-2 · Cited by 6
Goertzen, L. N., & Litwiller, F. (2021) · Leisure/Loisir · doi:10.1080/14927713.2021.1880336 · Cited by 5
Aggressive humor as a tool for [de]stigmatization of mental illness: theoretical review
Govorov, S. A. (2025) · Clinical Psychology and Special Education · doi:10.17759/cpse.2025140102 · Cited by 2
Tseole, N. P., & Pillay, J. D. (2025) · SOUTHERN AFRICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT · doi:10.25159/2708-9355/17985 · Cited by 1
Sex Workers’ Online Humor as Evidence of Resilience
Easterbrook-Smith, G. (2023) · Sexes · doi:10.3390/sexes4020021 · Cited by 1
Understanding patient and staff perspectives on dignified rehabilitation care experiences
Chapman, K., Dixon, A., Palipana, D. B., & Kendall, E. A. (2025) · Disability and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1080/09638288.2025.2496780 · Cited by 1
Guidry, A. (2021) · Cited by 1
Homelessness and Communication
Jensen, P. S. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/obo/9780199756841-0245 · Cited by 1
Self-citationWomen’s dignity and sense of self in experiences of support whilst homeless
Greenwood, R. J. (2024) · Sheffield Hallam University · doi:10.7190/shu-thesis-00687 · Cited by 1
Li, T. (2019) · K-State Research Exchange (Kansas State University)
Response: “Humor and Mental Health Therapy”
Eldredge, S. A., Dalton, E. D., & Noltensmeyer, C. J. (2021) · Advances in medical diagnosis, treatment, and care (AMDTC) book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-4528-7.ch026
Leeds‐Hurwitz, W. (2014) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/obo/9780199756841-0154
Gent, W. (2022) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781119678816.iehc0985
Stigmatizing Communication and Mental Health
Zhu, X., Smith, R. A., & Osoro, R. A. (2025) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781394179909.ch20
Public libraries and faith-based organizations join forces to address homelessness
Baluk, K. W. (2021) · The Conversation · doi:10.64628/aam.93wg3dycs
The in/visibility of homeless people in Termini railway station in Rome
Haynes, W. (2023) · White Rose eTheses Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York)
Lucas, K., & Tilton, J. (2026) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/9780197851395.003.1647
Life’s dignity within and beyond the workplace: Results from a national sample of US workers
Andersson, M. A., Upenieks, L., & Hitlin, S. (2026) · Work Employment and Society · doi:10.1177/09500170261468238
Metadata
- Authors
- Jensen, P. R.
- Affiliations
- University of Alabama (US)
- Corresponding author
- Jensen, Peter R.
- ORCID
- Jensen, Peter R.
- Venue
- Communication Quarterly
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2017-06-02
- Volume
- 66
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 20-37
- ISSN
- 0040-8573 (ISSN-L)
- 0146-3373
- 1746-4102
- OpenAlex
- W2620802897
- Cited by
- 27
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 2.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Communication Quarterly (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Homelessness and Social Issues
- Keywords
- stigma, humor, mental illness, homelessness, human dignity, homeless shelters, severe mental illness, stigma management
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Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
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