Health-Related Stigma and Illness Acceptance as Predictors of Adjustment Problems among Adults with Type-2 Diabetes Miletus in Pakistan

Abstract

Long-term diseases impact self-image and social reputation besides health conditions, and the disease termed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) creates high psychological pressures in Pakistan the nation suffering from the highest T2DM prevalence globally. The research here aims at analyzing the correlation of health-related anticipated stigma and illness acceptance with psychological adjustment problems of Pakistan’s with T2DM. A cross-sectional correlational methodology was utilized in the study involving data collection from 200 patients in hospitals and community places in Gujrat, Punjab on the basis of convenience sampling. The participating individuals answered the Chronic Illness Anticipated Stigma Scale (CIASS), Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS), and Scale of Adjustment Problems among Adults questionnaires in Urdu. A strong positive correlation was found between anticipated stigma and adjustment problems, r = .824, p < .001. Contrary to the expectations, illness acceptance was positively correlated with adjustment problems as well, r = .431,p < .001.The multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that the two predictors taken together contributed to explaining 67.9% of the variance in adjustment problems, R² = .679, F(2, 197) = 208.24, p < .001, with only anticipated stigma being statistically significant (β = .838, p < .001) while illness acceptance does not make a statistically significant unique contribution beyond stigma effects; β = −.026, p = .586. The results of the analysis highlight the role of anticipated stigma as an important factor in psychological adjustment of Pakistani individuals suffering from T2DM and suggest the necessity of implementing stigma-reduction programs in the healthcare sector, aside from raising important questions regarding the role of illness acceptance in the cultural context in question.