Acne stigma predicts health-related quality of life impairment, psychological distress, and somatic symptoms

O’Donnell, Aisling T.; Davern, Jamie

doi:10.17605/osf.io/9w2jh

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…We then conducted multiple regression analyses and found that when controlling for other established predictors, internalized and anticipated stigma were significantly and positively associated with illness self-concept. This finding supports previous research demonstrating direct effects of aspects of stigma on different outcomes, such as quality of life, psychological distress and physical health problems, both for people with chronic illness and those with other CSIs (Davern & O'Donnell, 2018;O'Donnell et al, 2018;Quinn & Chaudoir, 2009;Quinn et al, 2014). It is also consistent with research demonstrating that stigma is associated with decreased levels of general self-related variables such as self-esteem and self-efficacy (Corrigan et al, 2006;Moses, 2009), and variables more specifically associated with representations of the illness in the self, including reduced positive benefits of illness to the self (Earnshaw, Smith, et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Indeed, while the forefront of stigma research has focused extensively around visible cases of stigmatization due to gender, race, and other visible distinctions (Davern & O'Donnell, 2018;Finucane, Slovic, Mertz, Flynn, & Satterfield, 2000), there has been a surge in research surrounding stigmatized identities that are not always visible to the public (e.g., Beatty & Kirby, 2006;Frable, Platt, & Hoey, 1998;Greenwood, Adshead, & Jay, 2017; O'Donnell, O 'Carroll, & Toole, 2018). Quinn and Chaudoir (2009) created the term 'concealable stigmatized identities' (CSIs) to refer to individuals that can actively conceal their stigmatized group membership, such as individuals with concealable chronic illnesses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Stigma is associated with illness self‐concept in individuals with concealable chronic illnesses

O’Donnell

Habenicht

2021

British J Health Psychol

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives. Previous research suggests that chronic illnesses can elicit stigma, even when those illnesses are concealable. Such stigmatization is assumed to lead to a stigmatized identity. Additionally, chronic illness affects one's self-concept, as one reconstructs a sense of self with illness incorporated. However, no research has examined the interplay between stigma and self-concept in those with concealable chronic illnesses. Therefore, we investigated the extent to which experienced, anticipated, and internalized stigma are associated with illness self-concept in individuals living with concealable chronic illnesses. Furthermore, we explored if the aforementioned aspects of stigma are associated with enrichment in the self-concept in the same cohort.Design. An online correlational survey of people with concealable chronic illness (N = 446).Methods. Participants completed self-report measures of chronic illness-specific measures of stigma and illness self-concept, both negative and positive.Results. Results indicated that there is a positive relationship between experienced, anticipated, and internalized stigma and illness self-concept, indicating that stigma is associated with increased preoccupation and perceived impact of one's illness on the self. Although there is also a negative relationship between anticipated and internalized stigma and enrichment, only internalized stigma is associated with enrichment over and above the effects of control variables such as personal control.Conclusions. Our findings bridge the existing literature on illness self-concept and stigma for chronic illness groups, with a specific focus on those with concealable chronic illnesses. More varied approaches to coping with illness should be encouraged, including encouraging enrichment aspects to potentially act as a buffer between the effects of stigma and illness self-concept. Statement of contributionWhat is already known on this subject?Chronic illnesses can elicit stigma, even when those illnesses are concealable. This stigmatization leads to a stigmatized identity, where stigma can be anticipated and internalized. Chronic illness affects one's self-concept, as one reconstructs the self with illness incorporated.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

show abstract