Perceived stigma, self-acceptance, and community participation: A mediation analysis among persons with disabilities in Ethiopia

Stigma profoundly limits community participation for persons with disabilities, yet the psychological mechanisms in low-resource settings remain underexplored. This study tests a model positioning self-acceptance as a positive psychological mediator. A community-based cross-sectional study among 500 adults with physical, visual, or hearing impairments in Ethiopia's Sidama Region employed a sequential EFA-CFA-SEM approach. The model demonstrated excellent fit. We found a significant total relationship between perceived stigma and community participation (β = −.57, p < .001). As hypothesized, stigma was negatively associated with self-acceptance (β = −.43, p < .001). In turn, self-acceptance was strongly positively related to community participation (β = .66, p < .001). The significant indirect association (β = −.29, 95% CI [-.39, −.20]) confirmed an associative mediation pattern, with stigma also retaining a significant direct association (β = −.28, p = .002). Thus, within this cross-sectional model, stigma is linked to participation through a dual associative pathway: a direct social barrier and an indirect connection via eroded self-acceptance. Inclusion efforts must therefore be dual-pronged, integrating stigma reduction with interventions that cultivate self-acceptance.