Managing courtesy stigma: the case of Alzheimer's disease

This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study which examines the e xperience of courtesy stigma among family members of persons with Alzheimer 's disease. The results indicate that both primary caregivers and other fam ily members experience stigma; however, a good number of the family members interviewed claimed not to have experienced stigma and did not appear to b e concerned about trying to avoid it. Factors or conditions that influenced experience of stigma are outlined.