Gender differences in relation to stigmatization and depressive symptoms after burns

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Burn Care
• Trauma Recovery

Background:

• Burn injuries significantly impact survivors' psychosocial well-being.
• Understanding long-term psychological adjustment after burns is crucial.
• Gender differences in coping with trauma are increasingly recognized.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the moderating role of gender in the relationship between burn severity, perceived stigmatization, and depressive symptoms.
• To investigate these relationships at multiple time points post-burn.

Main Methods:

• Multi-center study with two cohorts (N=215 longitudinal, N=180 cross-sectional).
• Measures included perceived stigmatization and depressive symptoms.
• Burn severity indicated by the number of acute surgeries.
• Gender-specific path models analyzed relationships and indirect effects.

Main Results:

• In both genders, more surgeries correlated with higher depressive symptoms and stigma at 3 months.
• Women showed a persistent direct link from surgeries to depressive symptoms and stigma at 12 months and 5-7 years.
• Men displayed bidirectional relationships between depressive symptoms and stigma from 3 to 12 months, with indirect effects from surgeries.

Conclusions:

• Burn severity impacts psychosocial adaptation differently in men and women.
• For women, burn severity remains a direct factor in psychological adjustment over time.
• For men, the influence of burn severity diminishes as depressive symptoms and stigma become interrelated over time.