Functional limitation and depressive symptomatology: Considering perceived stigma and discrimination within a stress and coping framework.

This study examines whether perceived stigma and discrimination moderate the associations between functional limitation, psychosocial coping resources, and depressive symptoms among people with physical disabilities. Using 2 waves of data from a large community study including a representative sample of persons with physical disabilities (N = 417), a moderated mediation analysis based on structural equation modeling was performed. Mediation tests demonstrated that mastery significantly mediates the association between functional limitation and depressive symptoms over the study period. Moderated mediation tests revealed that the linkage between functional limitation and mastery varies as a function of perceived stigma and experiences of major discrimination and day-to-day discrimination, however. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of the stress and coping literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)