Coping with stigma and choosing silence: Discrimination and concealment among public housing residents

Public housing residents often face discrimination and stigma, yet little is known about how they respond and whether these responses influence their desire to conceal their housing status. This study examines the association between responses to discrimination and concealment behavior, with specific focus on gender and years in residence. Using data from the Seoul Public Rental Housing Panel Survey (SPRHPS), we analyze a sample of 5856 individuals observed from Wave 2 to Wave 4. The key outcome is the self-reported desire to conceal public housing residency. Responses to discrimination are categorized as: silent endurance, passive denial, or active resistance. We estimate both ordinary least squares (OLS) and individual fixed effects (FE) models to examine within-person changes while accounting for time-invariant individual traits. Interaction terms are included to assess heterogeneity by gender and years in residence. OLS models show that silent endurance (b = 0.535) and passive denial (b = 0.202) in response to discrimination are associated with concealment of public housing residency, while active resistance (b = 0.338) shows a weaker effect. In fixed effects models, the effects of silent endurance (b = 0.409) and passive denial (b = 0.164) remain significant, but active resistance becomes non-significant. Interaction analyses show stronger concealment effects of passive coping strategies among women and long-term residents. Our results reveal that passive responses to discrimination, including silent endurance and denial, are associated with one's tendency to conceal public housing residency. Efforts to mitigate public housing stigma through community education and inclusive activities are crucial for enhancing residents' social participation and psychological well-being.