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Purpose: The main objective of this study was to examine the role of social identification, collective action and resilience in reducing the negative consequences of internalized stigma on the psychological quality of life of people with physical disability using path analysis. We propose a model with two paths: the first through social identification and collective action and the second via resilience. Method: A total of 288 Spanish people with physical disability aged between 18 and 82 years (46.4% males; mean [SD] of age = 45.1 [12.3] responded to the questionnaire. Data were collected for three months through an online survey. Results: The tested model adequately fit the data. We found that the relationship between internalized stigma and the psychological quality of life of people with physical disability was mediated by resilience. However, neither social identification nor collective action mediated the association between internalized stigma and quality of life among our participants. Conclusions: The results confirmed the negative association between internalized stigma and quality of life in the population with physical disability. The results show that some interactive processes, such as resilience, may contribute to decreasing the negative effects of internalized stigma. In contrast, no effects of identification with the group or collective action intention were found.

The main objective of this research is to examine the consequences of perceived discrimination in family caregivers of people with physical disabilities. Through path analysis, we test the association between caregivers' perceived discrimination and their anxiety and depression and the mediating role that affiliate stigma and self-efficacy may play. We proposed a model that has not been tested previously in the literature on caregivers of people with physical disabilities. The sample includes 186 Spanish fathers (35%) or mothers (65%) raising children with physical disabilities. Descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated and structural equation modeling was used to examine the mediating effect. Results show that caregivers' perceived discrimination is positively associated with their affiliate or internalized stigma that in turn is harmful to their anxiety and depression. However, caregivers' self-efficacy plays a mediating role in the relation between affiliate stigma and caregivers' anxiety and depression. These results may be useful for designing interventions to improve the psychological well-being of the parents of children with physical disabilities. Public Policy Relevance StatementChildren with physical disabilities and their family caregivers are discriminated in different aspects of their lives. Often caregivers assume or internalize the negatives stereotypes of their children's disability. This internalization receives the name of affiliate stigma and has very negative consequences for caregivers' emotional well-being. This study suggests that caregiver's self-efficacy contributes to reduce the negative effects of affiliate stigma. To maintain caregivers' emotional well-being it would be useful to design interventions aimed both, to prevent the arousing of affiliate stigma and to increase caregivers' self-esteem. aaa S tigmatized individuals are those who possess (or are believed to possess) some attribute or characteristic that conveys a social identity devaluated in some specific contexts (Crocker et al., 1998, p. 505). That is what happens when someone is tagged with the label of "disabled." Once this label is assigned, a series of phenomena, such as stereotyping, separation, status loss, and discrimination take place (Green et al., 2005;Link & Phelan, 2001). People with a physical disability and their family caregivers are discriminated against in different aspects of their lives (e.g., Krahé & Altwasser, 2006;Park et al., 2003). Discrimination may take the form of feelings of discomfort and anxiety during the interaction (Hebl et al., 2000) or it This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

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