Perceived primal threat of mental illness and recovery: The mediating role of self-stigma and self-empowerment

Although people in recovery from mental illness can continue to live a personally meaningful life despite their mental illness, their perception of mental illness as being a threat to their basic needs may influence the way they view themselves as a person with mental illness and their sense of mastery over their condition. The present study explored the effects of perceived primal threat on the recovery of people with mental illness, considering the mediating roles of self-stigma and self-empowerment. Latent variable structural equation modeling was conducted among 376 individuals with mental illness in Hong Kong. The model had excellent fit to the data (χ2 = 123.96, df = 60, χ2/df = 2.07, comparative fit index [CFI] = .98, Tucker-Lewis index [TLI] = .97, root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = .05, standardized root mean squared residual [SRMR] = .04). The influence of perceived primal threat on recovery was mediated by self-stigma and self-empowerment. Specifically, perceived primal threat was associated positively with self-stigma, which was negatively related to recovery; in contrast, it was negatively related to self-empowerment, which was positively related to recovery. This study adds to the understanding of the mechanism underlying the influence of perceived primal threat on recovery and suggests that perceived primal threat should be considered in the recovery process among people with mental illness. (PsycINFO Database Record