Disability acceptance and depressive symptoms: the moderating role of social support

Purpose: This study aims to estimate (a) the relationship between disability acceptance and depressive symptoms, and (b) how the quality and quantity of social support might moderate the link between disability acceptance and depressive symptoms.Materials and methods: The data for this study included information from 5165 individuals with disability who participated in 3 waves of the Disability and Life Dynamic Panel spanning years 2018 to 2020. This study employed fixed effects models to estimate the association between disability acceptance and depressive symptoms. Interaction models were used to assess the moderating effects of both the quantity and quality of social support.Results: A lower acceptance of disability was positively associated with depressive symptoms. Moreover, both the quantity and quality of social support were associated with a decrease in depressive symptoms. Only the quality of social support played a significant role in moderating the relationship between disability acceptance and depressive symptoms.Conclusion: A lower acceptance of disability increases depressive symptoms in individuals with disabilities. This study underscores the need for interventions to focus on enhancing the quality of social support to mitigate the link between disability acceptance and depressive symptoms. A lower acceptance of disability is positively associated with depressive symptoms among persons with disability.The association between lower disability acceptance and depressive symptoms attenuates as emotional support from family and friends increases.The number of family and friends does not significantly change the relationship between lower disability acceptance and depressive symptoms.The findings highlight the importance of interventions enhancing quality of social support in order to mitigate the association between disability acceptance and psychological health.