Objective To construct a joint network model of disease burden and psychosocial adaptation in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), to identify core symptoms and their potential mechanistic pathways, and to provide reference for targeted intervention. Methods A convenience sample of 263 patients with IBD were surveyed using the IBD Disk and the Psychosocial Adaptation Questionnaire for IBD patients. A joint network was constructed to establish the core nodes and bridge symptoms via centrality metrics.Results Network analysis revealed three core nodes:emotional distress (Str=1.222, Bet=60.000, Clo=0.007), anxiety/depression (Str=1.213,Bet=38.000,Clo=0.006), and body image (Str=1.120,Bet=30.000,Clo=0.006). Emotional distress（Bridge Str=0.612） and sleep disturbance（Bridge Str=0.413） served as critical bridge symptoms connecting disease burden with psychosocial adaptation. Emotional distress and sleep exerted the strongest predictive effect on psychosocial adaptation (Expected Influence: EI=-0.613 and -0.323, respectively).Conclusion Complex interrelationships exist between disease burden and psychosocial adaptation in patients with IBD. Emotional distress, anxiety/depression, body image, and sleep disturbance constitute key intervention targets.