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 kidney patient" differentially moderates the psychosocial impact of illness intrusiveness--illness-induced lifestyle disruptions--across the life span. Renal transplant (n = 52) and maintenance dialysis patients (n = 49) completed the illness Intrusiveness Ratings Scale, a semantic-differential self-concept measure, and structured interviews measuring psychosocial well-being and emotional distress. Across ages, distress rose with increasing illness intrusiveness when self-concept was similar, but not dissimilar, to the chronic kidney patient stereotype. The relation between illness intrusiveness and psychosocial well-being differed 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 psychosocial impact of chronic disease, this varies across the life span and across affect states.