Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the mediating effects of self-determination and practice Relationship on the relationship between self-stigma and recovery among community-dwelling individuals with mental illness.
Methods: A cross-sectional s...
Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the mediating effects of self-determination and practice Relationship on the relationship between self-stigma and recovery among community-dwelling individuals with mental illness.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 168 service users of community mental health welfare centers and psychiatric rehabilitation facilities. Data were collected using structured questionnaires assessing self-stigma, recovery, self-determination, and practice Relationship. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and multiple regression analysis were performed using SPSS 25.0, and mediation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro (Model 4) with bootstrapping (5,000 resamples).
Results: The mean level of self-stigma was 2.65 on a 5-point scale, which is lower than the midpoint, whereas recovery (3.40), self-determination (3.24), and practice Relationship (3.66) were all above the midpoint. Correlation analysis showed that self-stigma was significantly and negatively correlated with recovery (r=−.17), self-determination (r=−.19), and practice Relationship (r=−.27). Both self-determination (r=.73) and practice Relationship (r=.64) showed significant positive correlations with recovery. In the mediation model, the direct effect of self-stigma on recovery was not statistically significant (B=0.02, p=.770). However, the indirect effects through self-determination (B=−0.11, 95% BootCI [−0.22, −0.01]) and practice Relationship (B=−0.08, 95% BootCI [−0.17, −0.02]) were both significant, indicating full mediation.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that self-stigma does not undermine recovery directly, but rather indirectly by diminishing the internal resource of self-determination and the external relational resource of the practice Relationship. Therefore, recovery-oriented interventions for people with mental illness should focus on simultaneously empowering self-determination and fostering strong, collaborative therapeutic alliances with practitioners.