The mediating role of social support in the relationship between stigma and emotional distress among homeless adolescents in Ghana

Kwaku Oppong Asante, Henry Onyeaka

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Research on youth homelessness has showed a link between emotional distress and social stigma. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship have received little empirical attention. This study was conducted to examine the mediating effect of social support that accounts for the link. Standard questionnaires that assessed emotional distress, stigma and social support were interviewer-administered to 193 homeless adolescents (50.4% male; Mean = 13.21 (SD = 2.06). The Pearson product–moment correlation coefficient and mediation analyses were used to analyse the data. The study revealed that both self-blame and general stigma were positively related to emotional distress; but negatively related to social support. In the mediation analysis, general stigma significantly predicted decreased perceived social support and had a direct positive influence on emotional problems. However, the levels of self-blame was neither significantly associated with perceived social support nor had a significant indirect influence on the level of emotional problems. Both self-blame and general stigma also did not have a significant indirect influence on the level of emotional problems through perceived social support. These findings call for further research to examine the complex mechanism underlying stigma and mental health outcomes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)589-597
Number of pages9
JournalPsychology, Health and Medicine
Volume27
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Keywords

  • Emotional distress
  • homeless adolescents
  • mediation effect
  • social support
  • stigma

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