Negative Impacts of Self-Stigma on the Quality of Life of Patients in Methadone Maintenance Treatment: The Mediated Roles of Psychological Distress and Social Functioning
2019
A sample of heroin users (n = 250) in
methadone maintenancetreatment (MMT) was used in this cross-sectional study to clarify the mechanisms of the effects of stigma on quality of life (QoL) through
psychological
distressand social functioning. All the participants had their self-stigma,
psychological
distress, social functioning, and QoL measured.
Psychological
distressand social functioning were proposed to be mediators between self-stigma and QoL. Several linear models using structural equation modeling were conducted to examine the mediated effects. The negative effects of self-stigma on QoL were significantly mediated by
psychological
distress, as self-stigma directly and significantly influenced
psychological
distress, but not social functioning. This study demonstrated a linear model describing the effects of self-stigma on QoL for opioid-dependent
individuals;
psychological
distresswas also an important mediator between self-stigma and their QoL. Clinicians were able to notice the importance of reducing self-stigma for opioid-dependent individuals according to the following results: higher levels of self-stigma were associated with high
psychological
distress, decreased social functioning, and impaired QoL. Our mediation findings suggest that treating
psychological
distressis better than treating social functioning if we want to eliminate the effects of self-stigma on QoL for heroin users.
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