AccScience Publishing / HPR / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/hpr.0173
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Perceived stigma and compassion fatigue among caregivers of individuals with severe mental illness: The mediating role of social isolation

Genevieve Chimaoge Ebulum1,2* ,  John E. Eze3
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1 Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, David Umahi Federal University of Health Science, Uburu, Ebonyi, Nigeria
2 International Institute for Sports, Research, Development, and Rehabilitation, David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, Ebonyi, Nigeria
3 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu, Nigeria
HPR, 0173 https://doi.org/10.36922/hpr.0173
Received: 14 June 2025 | Revised: 15 April 2026 | Accepted: 23 April 2026 | Published online: 29 May 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Background: The chronic nature of mental illness, attitude, and high level of dependence on carers pose significant challenges, such as perceived stigma, social isolation, and compassion fatigue to their caregivers.

Objective: This study examines the impact of perceived stigma and social isolation on compassion fatigue and the mediating role of social isolation among primary caregivers of individuals with mental illness.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used convenience sampling to recruit primary caregivers from two teaching hospitals and two psychiatric hospitals in southeast Nigeria. The Professional Quality of Life Survey (ProQol-5) for compassion fatigue, the Friendship Scale for assessing social isolation in adults, and the Perceived Devaluation and Discrimination Scale for perceived stigma were administered to participants.

Results: The participants were 300 adults (men = 141, women = 159) aged 18 to 70 years. Mean scores indicated elevated levels of perceived stigma (41.58), social isolation (15.20), and compassion fatigue (27.46). No significant correlations were observed between perceived stigma, social isolation, and compassion fatigue (p > 0.05). The proposed mediation model could therefore not be tested.

Conclusion: In this sample, perceived stigma, social isolation, and compassion fatigue were not significantly intercorrelated, despite elevated mean levels across all constructs. This raises important questions about the cultural applicability of Western-derived measures. Future research should prioritize the development and validation of culturally sensitive instruments and employ longitudinal designs to capture the dynamic nature of caregiving experiences in the African context.

Keywords
Perceived stigma
Caregivers
Mental illness
Compassion fatigue
Social isolation
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors have no conflict of interest.
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