PSYCHOSOCIAL IMPACT OF ILLNESS INTRUSIVENESS MODERATED BY SELF-CONCEPT AND AGE IN END-STAGE RENAL-DISEASE

This study assesses whether a person's self-concept as a ''chronic kid ney patient'' differentially moderates the psychosocial impact of illn ess intrusiveness-illness-induced lifestyle disruptions-across the lif e span. Renal transplant (n = 52) and maintenance dialysis patients (n = 49) completed the Illness Intrusiveness Ratings Scale, a semantic-d ifferential self-concept measure,and structured interviews measuring p sychosocial well-being and emotional distress. Across ages, distress r ose with increasing illness intrusiveness when self-concept was simila r, but not dissimilar, to the chronic kidney patient stereotype. The r elation between illness intrusiveness and psychosocial well-being diff ered significantly between younger and older respondents depending on whether they construed themselves as similar versus dissimilar to the chronic kidney patient. Although self-definition moderates the psychos ocial impact of chronic disease, this varies across the life span and across affect states.