Self-Esteem Mediates the Relationships Between Social Support, Subjective Well-Being, and Perceived Discrimination in Chinese People With Physical Disability

Abstract

Background: Disabilities have a negative effect on mental health and individuals with such conditions are especially susceptible to mental disorders. Previous research has established that in normal population, social support is significantly correlated with subjective well-being (SWB) through mediating variables; however the internal mechanism underlying this in people with physical disability remains unclear. This study aims to examine whether self-esteem and perceived discrimination play a mediating role in the relationship between social support and SWB in a sample of people with physical disability in China.Methods: A total of 210 people with physical disability of Chinese ethnicity were recruited to complete a series of questionnaires. This included the Chinese Social Support Rating Scale (CSSRS), Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES), Disability Discrimination Perception Questionnaire (DDPQ), and the Chinese Happiness Inventory (CHI). Path analysis was implemented on the data.Results: The model showed excellent fit to data: χ2 = 2.314, p > 0.05; root-mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.079; standardized root-mean residual (SRMR) = 0.035; comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.989; and Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.936. The results showed that self-esteem significantly mediated the relationship between social support and SWB, and perceived discrimination in people with physical disability. However, there is no mediating effect of perceived discrimination between social support and SWB.Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that self-esteem may be a critical resource in mediating the relationships between social support, SWB, and perceived discrimination in people with physical disability.

Social support and self-esteem in people with physical disabilities

“…The correlation between social support and self-esteem variables is 0.689, which is in the strong category (Sujarweni, 2014). It also supports previous studies that show social support is positively correlated with self-esteem (Ikiza & Cakarb, 2010;Ji et al, 2019;Tam et al, 2011;Teoh, 2010). Social support in the form of emotional, instrumental, information, and appreciation supports will create a more positive affective condition in people with physical disabilities.…”

“…The factors affecting self-esteem are the capacity to love, rational thinking, making good decisions, the body condition, including appearance, vitality, health, mood, performance, expertise level, control over events (Schiraldi, 2007), personality traits (Amirazodi & Amirazodi, 2011), and mindfulness (Pepping et al, 2013). As for external the factors influencing self-esteem are demographic conditions (economic status, gender, race, age), respect, popularity (Schiraldi, 2007), feedback from significant people, disputes and family problems (Mann et al, 2004) (Branscombe & Baron, 2016), social acceptance (Wagner et al, 2018), level of parental warmth and support (Harris et al, 2017;Orth, 2018), the quality of social relationships (Wagner et al, 2015), and social support (Branscombe & Baron, 2016;Ikiza & Cakarb, 2010;Ji et al, 2019;Tam et al, 2011;Teoh, 2010). Social support has a hypothetical mean of 42.5 and an empirical mean of 53.78, thus social support for people with physical disabilities is in the moderate category.…”

“…Self-esteem is influenced by several factors, including how important it is for others to perceive an individual, the treatment received from others, gender, feedback, parental care (Branscombe & Baron, 2016), social acceptance (Wagner et al, 2018), level of parental warmth and support (Harris et al, 2017;Orth, 2018), the quality of social relationship (Wagner et al, 2015), and social support (Branscombe & Baron, 2016 Social support plays a vital role in shaping self-esteem (Harris & Orth, 2019). Social support is the exchange of resources between at least two parties, between the giver and the recipient to improve the welfare of the recipient (Ji et al, 2019). Social support aims to share, exchange information, support emotions, and experiences (Krause, 2003).…”

Social Support and Subjective Well-Being in Chinese Parents of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Mediating Role of Perceived Discrimination

“…High levels of PD were associated with low levels of SWB for Chinese parents of children with ASD. This finding is consistent with the previous studies ( Ji et al, 2019 ; Schauman et al, 2019 ). For ASD families, facing stigmatization and discrimination from their environment intensified the perceived stress and reinforced the feeling of being rejected, self-blame, and angry of individuals ( Yasuhiro, 2018 ).…”

“…However, to our knowledge, previous studies have mainly examined the relationships among SS, PD, and SWB of patients with mental disorders ( Jasinskaja-Lahti et al, 2006 ; Schauman et al, 2019 ), people with physical disabilities ( Ji et al, 2019 ), and immigrants ( Fernández et al, 2014 ; Hashemi et al, 2019 , 2020 ). Few studies have focused on members of ASD families, especially parents.…”