Honors Program
Honors in Psychology
Date of Award
5-2025
Thesis Professor(s)
Ginette Blackhart
Thesis Professor Department
Psychology
Thesis Reader(s)
Stacey L. Williams
Abstract
Neurodivergence describes people whose brains and cognitive processes differ from the general population. Neurodivergent disorders include autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, etc. Rejection sensitivity is defined as hypervigilance to being rejected and intense reactions to rejection. Previous research has found that individuals with neurodivergent disorders are often treated more poorly by peers than neurotypical people. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between perceived external stigma, rejection sensitivity, and depression, anxiety, and stress for neurodivergent individuals. The first hypothesis was neurodivergent adults who report higher rejection sensitivity will report 1a) higher perceived external stigma and 1b) increased feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress. The second hypothesis was perceived external stigma mediates the relationship between rejection sensitivity and feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress for neurodivergent adults. The Perceived Devaluation and Discrimination (PDD) Scale was used to measure perceived external stigma, the Adult Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (ARSQ) was used to measure rejection sensitivity, and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used to measure feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress. Participants answered these questionnaires via a survey. Relationships between rejection sensitivity, depression, anxiety, and stress were established. No relationships were found between perceived external stigma and rejection sensitivity or depression, anxiety, and stress.
Publisher
East Tennessee State University
Document Type
Honors Thesis - Open Access
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Galloway, Brianna E., "Examining How Perceived External Stigma Mediates the Relationship Between Rejection Sensitivity and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress for Neurodivergent Adults" (2025). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 835. https://dc.etsu.edu/honors/835
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.
