| dc.description.abstract | Objective: Adolescents/Young Adults (AYAs) with a chronic illness display elevated risk for poor psychosocial outcomes. This has been well-documented among AYAs attending college, yet relatively little is known about factors that place these individuals at risk. Illness intrusiveness (i.e., perceived illness-induced impediments to engaging in routine activities) is a known predictor of negative psychosocial outcomes in AYAs. Illness-related stigma, an understudied concept in this population, may also be a key contributor to increased intrusiveness. The present study investigated the hypothesis that higher levels of illness-related stigma would be associated with higher levels of depressive and anxious symptoms in AYAs, and that this relationship will be mediated by illness intrusiveness. Methods: College students with a chronic illness completed measures of illness intrusiveness, illness-related stigma, and depressive and anxious symptoms. Results: A path model was estimated to test the above hypothesis. Overall, the model yielded good fit to the data, CFI (.99), SRMR (.02), and RMSEA (.10), and yielded a significantly better model fit than a model where illness-related stigma and illness intrusiveness were estimated as independent predictors. Stigma was significantly related to illness intrusiveness, and illness intrusiveness was significantly related to depressive and anxious symptoms. Both the stigma ? intrusiveness ? depression, and the stigma ? intrusiveness ? anxiety indirect paths were significant. Conclusions: Findings support previous research indicating relationships between stigma, illness intrusiveness, and negative psychosocial outcomes. Results implicate illness intrusiveness as a possible mediator between illness-related stigma and depressive and anxious symptoms in AYAs. Illness intrusiveness may be a potential mechanism by which illness-related stigma leads to negative psychosocial outcomes. | |
