title: Meaning in life, insight and self-stigma among people with severe mental illness.
abstract: Recapturing meaning in life has been described as an essential element in the process of recovery from severe mental illness (SMI), but limited quantitative research still restricts our understanding of this phenomenon. The purpose of the current study was to explore the meaning in life among people with SMI and variables that may influence it such as internalized stigma and insight into the mental illness. We expected a significant negative correlation between internalized stigma and meaning in life, and that internalized stigma would moderate the relationship between insight and meaning in life. To explore these assumptions, 60 persons with SMI completed questionnaires that assessed their meaning in life, insight into their mental illness and internalized stigma, after which the data were analyzed using correlation and cluster analysis. Both hypotheses were confirmed. The mechanism behind the relationship between self-stigma and meaning in life and the theoretical and clinical implications of the moderation model are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel. shirehrlich@gmail.com
authors.forename: Shir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ehrlich-Ben Or
authors.forename: Ilanit
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hasson-Ohayon
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Feingold
authors.forename: Kobi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vahab
authors.forename: Revital
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Amiaz
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weiser
authors.forename: Paul H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Lysaker
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012649:Self Concept; D057545:Social Stigma; D013240:Stereotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires