Testing an adapted Illness Identity model with post-secondary students with probable PTSD

Objective: There is a current lack of understanding of the impact of internalized (or self-) stigma among young adults experiencing a broad range of mental health conditions. Participants: Baseline data included 166 postsecondary students with mental health conditions and probable PTSD. Methods: Path and mediation analyses examined the extent to which interrelationships between self-stigma and recovery-related variables (negative cognitions, resilience, social interaction, suicidality, symptom severity, and academic skill difficulty) were adequately represented by the adapted Illness Identity model. Results: Self-stigma has significantly been associated with almost all recovery-related variables. Not all predictions of the model were supported, though findings suggested that self-stigma was related to variations in negative cognitions, further impacting resilience and academic skill difficulty. Negative cognitions mediated the relationship between self-stigma and both resilience and academic skill difficulty. Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of interventions that address self-stigma among postsecondary students with broad ranges of mental health conditions.