Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Consortium

The Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Consortium (SARAVYC) is a team of researchers, collaborators, trainees, and community partners brought together to address one of the most poorly understood social determinants of health: the influences of stigma on health disparities of vulnerable populations of youth.

Stigma -- an attribute, behaviour, or reputation that is seen as socially unacceptable by a dominant social group¹ -- can profoundly affect the developmental trajectories and life experiences of young people. Stigmatized youth are at increased risk for health disparities – including drug abuse, suicide attempts and teen pregnancy – compared to their non-stigmatized peers.

However, not all youth at risk of stigma are affected equally. Some youth are buffered from harm by protective factors, such as supportive parents and peers. The SARAVYC research team is interested in finding strategies at the individual, family, community, and policy levels to reduce stigma, bolster resiliency and decrease health disparities.