Depression and Lack of Social Support

The role of community involvement

Many studies have identified a link between depression and lack of social support, not having support available from other people, when people are trying to deal with stress. Researchers at Duke University and the University of Albany, State University of New York recently explored what makes up this link.

What was the research about?

The researchers proposed a model to describe the association between depression and lack of social support in times of stress. They found that the model was supported by statistical tests. In particular, they found that social support could be thought of in terms of its structure and function. The structure of social support is made up of people's involvement in community activities, the number of people they tend to come into contact with, and whether or not people have spouses or intimate partners. The function of social support is considered in terms of the degree to which people believe they are receiving support compared to how much support they actually do receive, the degree to which the support they receive helps solve problems compared to how much support serves to make them feel better, and the degree to which support is available for people whenever they need it compared to it only being available during crises.

In general, the model shows that more involvement in community activities leads to more contact with other people and more intimate relationships, which in turn, lead to less depression. The conditions in which this process takes place, however, depend on the three ways in which the model indicates that the function of social support can differ.

Why should it matter to me?

The findings from this study suggest that, if people increase their involvement in community activities such as becoming more involved with volunteer organizations, they may be less vulnerable to depression. Involvement in community activities seems to promote other more person-to-person forms of social support that can reduce the risk of depression in response to stress.

Source: Xiaolanye, N. L., & Ensel, W. M. (1999). Social support and depressed mood: A structural analysis. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 40, 344-359.

Coping With Stress

Why are some women more vulnerable to depression?

When dealing with something stressful, people can cope in a variety of different ways. A common distinction between coping styles is approach vs. avoidance. Approach copinginvolves forms of coping in which people actually try to do something about the problem, such as behaviors like seeking guidance and support and thoughts involving logical problem solving. Avoidance coping involves forms of coping in which people do not really do anything about the problem, such as behaviors like yelling and screaming and thoughts involving denial of the problem.

Research has shown that women tend to be more vulnerable to depression and that society tends to socialize women to be more passive. Consequently, because cognitive avoidance coping (i.e., the type of avoidance coping involving thoughts) is the most passive coping style, women may be more vulnerable to depression because they rely more on cognitive avoidance coping. Researchers at the University of Texas and Florida State University recently explored this issue.

What was the research about?

One hundred and seventy-nine undergraduate students completed questionnaires measuring coping styles, stress, depression, and anxiety on two separate occasions that were 3 weeks apart. They found that higher levels of stress predicted more anxiety and depression among women who used more cognitive avoidance coping than among women who used other forms of coping more. This effect was not found for men.

Why should it matter to me?

Women who rely on cognitive avoidance coping may be able to handle stress better and avoid negative consequences like anxiety and depression if they try to use other types of coping styles more. For example, instead of trying to pretend that problems don't exist, such women might be better off if they try to seek guidance and support from others.

Source: Blalock, J. A., & Joiner, T. E., Jr. (2000). Interaction of cognitive avoidance coping and stress in predicting depression/anxiety. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 24, 47-65.

Talking About Stress

How does talking about stress sometimes reduce it?

Simply talking about stress can sometimes be beneficial. The reasons why this happens, however, are not so clear. Researchers at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, the University of Texas, and Carnegie Mellon University recently offered an explanation.

What was the research about?

Two hundred and fifty-six undergraduate students participated in a two-part study. During the first session, participants watched a calming nature video followed by a distressing video about the Holocaust. After watching the videos, they were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: not talking, talking by themselves about the distressing video, talking with someone pretending to be another participant who reacted similarly to the distressing video, or talking with someone pretending to be another participant who reacted differently to the distressing video. They also responded to a questionnaire measuring perceived stress. During the second session, which was 2 days later, the participants watched the two videos again and responded to the same questionnaire plus another questionnaire measuring the degree to which they had intrusive thoughts, unwanted thoughts that they could not prevent from reoccurring, related to the distressing video.

The results suggest that talking about stress can reduce it when it leads to a decrease in intrusive thoughts. Compared to situations in which people do not talk about their stress, talking about it with another person who can relate and provide support or even talking about it while alone appears to result in fewer intrusive thoughts, and consequently, less stress the next time the same situation arises.

Why should it matter to me?

Whenever people are distressed about something, they should try to talk about it by themselves or with someone else who can relate and provide support. Such actions should help them deal with what is bothering them by reducing the intrusive thoughts surrounding the issue and make them better prepared to deal with the problem the next time they find themselves in a similar situation.

Source: Lepore, S. J., Ragan, J. D., Jones, S. (2000). Talking facilitates cognitive-emotional processes of adaptation to an acute stressor. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 499-508.

Three Basic Needs Related to Happiness


A low level of stress is one of the key features of happiness. Researchers at the University of Rochester and the University of Missouri, Columbia recently investigated the connection between daily variations in happiness and daily variations in the degree to which people satisfy three basic needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Autonomy refers to being able to do what you want to without being controlled by others. Competence refers to having the ability to meet the challenges you face. Relatedness refers to experiencing positive relationships with others.

What was the research about?
Sixty-seven undergraduate students participated in the study. After an initial testing session, participants responded to measures of autonomy, competence, relatedness, happiness, and illness-related symptoms everyday for 14 days. They found that the degree to which daily activities helped people meet the three basic needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) was related to how happy they were. The more that these needs were met, the happier they were. Additionally, the more that autonomy and competence needs were satisfied, the less that illness-related symptoms were experienced.

Why should it matter to me?
People may be able to live happier, less illness-prone lives by trying to satisfy their autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs in their daily lives. For example, people could try to engage in more behaviors that are not controlled by others, to go after challenges that match their abilities, and to participate in positive relationships with others.

Source: Reis, H. T., Sheldon, K. M., Gable, S. L., Roscoe, J., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 419-435..

Life-Threatening Illnesses and Stress

Is feeling like you are in control always beneficial?

Life-threatening illnesses, such as breast cancer, are extremely difficult to cope with and often lead to stress and stress-related symptoms like anxiety and depression. One consistent finding that researchers have found in the past is that having a sense of control, feeling like either oneself or one's doctors/treatments can exert control over the disease, is generally beneficial. Is it always a good idea to try to have a sense of control in the face of life-threatening illnesses, though? A team of researchers from across the United States recently conducted a study to find an answer to this question.

What was the research about?

Fifty-eight women diagnosed with first-time breast cancer volunteered to participate in the study. On three separate occasions (i.e., within 6 weeks of diagnosis, 4 months after diagnosis, and 8 months after diagnosis), they completed questionnaires measuring coping styles, adjustment, anxiety, and depression.

The results showed that, eight months after diagnosis, having a sense of control was not always beneficial. It depended on the way in which participants tried to gain a sense control. Among participants who tended to have a positive yielding coping style, accepting and able to abandon attempts at control when necessary, trying to gain a sense of control was associated with better adjustment. Among participants who tended to be have a negative yielding coping style, passive and unable to try to gain control when necessary, trying to gain a sense of control was associated with worse adjustment. Additionally, there was some tentative evidence for anxiety and depression findings similar to those found for adjustment.

Why should it matter to me?

When people are facing life-threatening illnesses, they may find it in their best interest to not only try to gain a sense of control but also use a positive yielding coping style. In other words, people may be best off trying to establish feelings of control while knowing when to just accept things for what they are.

Source: Astin, J. A., Anton-Culver, H., Schwartz, C. E., Shapiro, D. H., Jr., McQuade, J., Breuer, A. M., Taylor, T. H., Lee, H., & Kurosaki, T. (1999). Sense of control and adjustment to breast cancer: The importance of balancing control coping styles. Behavioral Medicine, 25, 101-109.

Work Stress and Cardiovascular Disease

It is well known that work stress is associated with cardiovascular disease (e.g., high blood pressure, cholesterol problems). Unfortunately, researchers have not been able to determine exactly why this connection exists. Why do work stress and cardiovascular disease seem to go hand in hand? Recently, researchers from two universities in The Netherlands conducted a study to identify the bodily processes that are responsible.

What was the research about?

One hundred and twenty-four middle-aged, white-collar workers at a large computer company participated in the study. Blood samples were obtained from participants on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of a workweek. The blood samples were used to assess the levels of various chemicals in the blood. The participants also completed a work-stress questionnaire to assess effort-reward imbalance and overcommitment. Effort-reward imbalance refers to working very hard but not getting much for it. Overcommitment refers to a combination of needing approval, being competitive, being impatient and irritable, and not being able to withdraw from work obligations.

They found that overcommitment was associated with cardiovascular disease. Effort-reward imbalance or the interaction between overcommitment and effort-reward imbalance, however, was unrelated to cardiovascular disease. In particular, they found that overcommitment was related to an impaired fibrinolytic system. The fibrinolytic system is a bodily process that is responsible for getting rid of blood clots before they can do any damage. Therefore, one probable reason why work stress is associated with cardiovascular disease is that overcommitment impairs the fibrinolytic system, resulting in blood clots.

Why should it matter to me?

People may find it in their best interest to avoid becoming overcommitted at work. Although nothing is necessarily wrong with commitment, going overboard may lead to an impaired fibrinolytic system, and consequently, an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Source: Vrijkotte, T. G. M., van Doornen, L. J. P., & de Geus, E. J. C. (1999). Work stress and metabolic and hemostatic risk factors. Psychosomatic Medicine, 61, 796-805.

Alcohol and Stress

Why do people drink when stressed, or do they?

A common assumption that many people have is that people use alcohol to deal with stress. Although this may be "common knowledge," researchers have not been able to find much support for this notion. In other words, people as a whole do not seem to drink as a way to deal with stress. Some studies have shown, however, that men who believe that drinking leads to positive outcomes or feelings of carelessness tend to use alcohol as a stress reliever. Unfortunately, these studies asked people to reflect back on past behavior, which is not a very good way to investigate this issue. Researchers from the University of Connecticut Health Center recently conducted a study to investigate this issue using a more appropriate approach.

What was the research about?

Eighty-eight community residents participated in the study after responding to newspaper advertisements. They completed an initial questionnaire measuring alcohol expectancies, the outcomes they expected after drinking alcohol. Each day for sixty days, they completed a brief questionnaire about the stress they experienced, their desire to drink, and their alcohol consumption.

Consistent with some of the other studies on this issue, men who believed that drinking leads to positive outcomes or feelings of carelessness wanted to and actually did drink more alcohol on more stressful days than they did on less stressful days. Additionally, men who believed that drinking leads to impairment showed the opposite pattern, wanting to and actually drinking less alcohol on more stressful days than on less stressful days. Alcohol use among women was not related to stress.

Why should it matter to me?

This study provides strong evidence for why some people drink in response to stress. Men who drink may want to think about whether their beliefs about the consequences of alcohol consumption are leading them to use alcohol as an unhealthy, shortsighted approach to stress relief.

Source: Armeli, S., Carney, M. A., Tennen, H., Afflect, G., & O'Neil, T. P. (2000). Stress and alcohol use: A daily process examination of the stressor-vulnerability model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 979-994.