Psychol Health. 2025 Aug 28:1-26. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2025.2552234. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Diabetes stigma may lead to poor psychological health and self-management behaviors, resulting in adverse clinical outcomes. This study aimed to explore the associations between diabetes stigma and psychological, behavioral, and clinical outcomes and the moderating effects of hope, self-esteem, and social support in young and middle-aged Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
METHODS: A cross-sectional investigation (N = 300) was conducted. First, diabetes stigma, psychological (anxiety, depression, and distress), behavioral (diet, exercise, blood glucose testing, and foot care), and clinical outcomes (baseline HbA1c) and psychosocial moderators (hope, self-esteem, and social support) were assessed. Second, 3-month post-discharge HbA1c was assessed. Linear regression models were used to analyze data.
RESULTS: Diabetes stigma was positively associated with anxiety, depression, and distress. Hope negatively moderated the association between public stigma and anxiety. Hope and self-esteem negatively moderated the associations between diabetes stigma and depression. Social support negatively moderated the association between public stigma and depression. Self-esteem positively moderated the association between self-stigma and distress.
CONCLUSIONS: Decreasing diabetes stigma can improve psychosocial health among young and middle-aged Chinese patients with T2DM, and interventions targeting hope, self-esteem, and social support can decrease the negative impact of diabetes stigma on psychological outcomes.
PMID:40875973 | DOI:10.1080/08870446.2025.2552234
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