Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T07:31:16.749Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Social Support, Negative Life Events and Mental Health

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Odd Steffen Dalgard ,
Sven Bj⊘rk  and
Kristian Tambs
Odd Steffen Dalgard*
Affiliation:
Centre for Social Network and Health, Ullevål Hospital
Sven Bj⊘rk
Affiliation:
Centre for Social Network and Health, Ullevål Hospital
Kristian Tambs
Affiliation:
National Institute of Public Health, Oslo
*
Dr Dalgard, Centre for Social Network and Health, Ullevål Hospital, Hudav. 4. etg. Kirkevein 166, 0407 Oslo, Norway
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

In a 10-year follow-up of a survey from Oslo, 503 persons were reinterviewed using the same questionnaire.

Method

The questionnaire includes information about social support, ‘locus of control’ and mental health as well as negative life events and long-lasting mental strain during the year prior to the follow-up.

Results

The study confirms the “buffer hypothesis”, that social support protects against the development of mental disorder only when the individual is exposed to stressors, like negative life events. This buffering effect was especially strong for depression.

Conclusions

The buffering effect only applies to the ‘externals’ –those who have personality-related feelings of powerlessness and lack of control over their own lives. The ‘internals’ do not have the same need for social support to cope with life stressors, and have low symptom scores even when negative life events are combined with relative weak social support.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 166 , Issue 1 , January 1995 , pp. 29 - 34
Copyright
Copyright © 1995 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Benfari, R. C. & Leighton, A. H. (1970) PROBE: a computer instrument for field surveys of psychiatric disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 23, 352–358.Google Scholar
Brown, G. W., Andrews, B., Harris, T., et al (1986) Social support, self-esteem and depression. Psychological Medicine, 16, 813–831.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, S. & Edwards, J. R. (1989) Personality characteristics as moderators of the relationship between stress and disorder. In Advances in the Investigation of Psychological Stress (ed. Neufeld, R. W.). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Dalgard, O. S. (1986) Living conditions, network and mental health. In Social Support-Health and Disease (eds Isacsson, S. O. & Janzon, L.), Stockholm: Almquist & Wiksell.Google Scholar
Dalgard, O. S. & Tambs, K. (1993) Urban environment and mental health–a longitudinal study. Unpublished.Google Scholar
Gore, S. (1978) The effect of social support in moderating the health consequences of unemployment. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 19, 157–165.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henderson, A. S., Byrne, D. G. & Duncan-Jones, P. (1981) Neurosis and the Social Environment. Sydney: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Holahan, J. C. & Moos, R. H. (1981) Social support and psychological distress: a longitudinal analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 49, 365–370.Google Scholar
House, J. S. (1981) Work, Stress and Social Support. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Kessler, C. K. & McLeod, J. D. (1985) Social support and mental health in community samples. In Social Support and Health (eds Cohen, S. & Syme, L.). New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Kiers, H. A. L. (1990) SCA. A Program for Simultaneous Component Analysis of Variables Measured in Two or More Populations. Groningen: Pro Gamma.Google Scholar
Leighton, A. H., Leighton, D. C. & Danly, R. A. (1966) Validity in mental health surveys. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 3, 167–178.Google Scholar
Lin, N., Dean, A. & Essel, W., (eds) (1986) Social Support, Life Events and Depression. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Payne, R. L. & Graham-Jones, J. (1987) Measurement and methodological issues in social support. In Stress and Health Issues in Research Methodology (eds Kasl, S. V. & Cooper, C. L.). Chichester: Wiley.Google Scholar
Rotter, J. (1966) Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, American Psychological Association, 609, 80, 1–28.Google Scholar
Schaefer, C., Coyne, J. C. & Lazarus, R. S. (1981) The health-related functions of social support. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4, 381–406.Google Scholar
Surtees, P. G. (1980) Social support, residual adversity and depressive outcome. Social Psychiatry, 15, 71–80.Google Scholar
Tambs, K. (1991) Transmission of symptoms of anxiety and depression in nuclear families. Journal of Affective Disorders, 21, 117–126.Google Scholar
Turner, R. J. (1981) Social support as a contingency in psychological well-being. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22, 357–367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
William, A. W., Ware, J. E. & Donald, C. A. (1981) A model of mental health, life events, and social supports applicable to general populations. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22, 324–336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.