Stigma and emotional distress in Chinese mental health professionals: Moderating role of cognitive fusion.

Abstract

Mental health professionals (MHPs) often face occupational stigma due to their affiliation to individuals who have mental illness, which can cause them to experience emotional distress. However, research on the underlying processes is lacking. The study examined how affiliate stigma mediated the relationship between occupational stigma and emotional distress among Chinese MHPs, and whether cognitive fusion moderated this relationship. A total of 223 MHPs (psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, and psychiatric technicians) in psychiatric hospitals in China were recruited online. Participants completed assessments on occupational stigma, affiliate stigma, cognitive fusion, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and stress. The results showed that greater levels of occupational stigma were correlated with higher levels of depressive, anxious, and stress symptoms among Chinese MHPs. Affiliate stigma mediated the impact of occupational stigma on emotional distress. Conditional process analysis revealed that the indirect effect of occupational stigma on emotional distress through affiliate stigma was conditional on levels of cognitive fusion. The positive association between occupational stigma and affiliate stigma was attenuated among MHPs who were less cognitively fused. These findings suggest that cognitive defusion may play a buffering role in reducing affiliate stigma in MHPs. Strategies that target stigma reduction and cognitive defusion may alleviate the negative impact of stigma on MHPs' mental health. Clinical Impact StatementThe study analyzed the effects of stigma experiences among mental health professionals on their mental health and explored how cognitive defusion buffered these deleterious effects. Mental health professionals internalized stigma toward their profession and experienced emotional distress. Cognitive defusion mitigated the impact of occupational stigma on affiliate stigma. The significance of these findings lies in capturing the burden of occupational stigma faced by mental health professionals and highlighting the process of internalizing occupational stigma. Promoting the quality of cognitive defusion may positively impact mental health professionals' mental health.