Impacts of family functioning on social avoidance and distress among people with disabilities: a moderated mediating model

Abstract

This study has conducted a questionnaire survey on 600 people with disabilities and 600 healthy people, compared their psychological characteristics, and examined the mediating effects of perceived social support and happiness on the relationship between family functioning and social avoidance and distress among people with disabilities, as well as whether this process is moderated by self-esteem. The results reveal that there are significant differences between people with disabilities and healthy people in terms of happiness and self-esteem; perceived social support and happiness have multiple mediating effects on the relationship between family functioning of people with disabilities and their social avoidance and distress; and the mediating effect of perceived social support is moderated by self-esteem, and self-esteem moderates the latter half path of the mediating process of family functioning - perceived social support - social avoidance and distress. Therefore, the impacts of family functioning of people with disabilities on their social avoidance and distress is a moderated mediating model. The findings from the study are of theoretical and practical significance for improving social skills of people with disabilities.