Accepting the mental illness label, perceived control over the illness, and quality of life

Rehabilitation literature generally encourages persons with chronic disabilities to accept their medical diagnosis as a step toward maintaining and possibly improving the quality of their lives. To investigate the manner in which the acceptance of a psychiatric label impacts upon aspects of quality of life for persons with psychiatric disabilities, this study developed a comprehensive measure of the acceptance of a psychiatric label, and examined its relation to a multidimensional self-report measure of quality of life. The possible mediating, moderating, and direct effects of the rehabilitations' perceived control over their illness on their quality of life was also examined. Psychiatric self-labeling was found to be negatively related, and perceived control over the illness was found to be positively related to quality of life in a number of important life areas.