Tegan Cruwys1, S Alexander Haslam2, Genevieve A Dingle2, Jolanda Jetten2, Matthew J Hornsey2, E M Desdemona Chong2, Tian P S Oei3. 1. School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia. Electronic address: t.cruwys@uq.edu.au. 2. School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia. 3. School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia; CBT Unit, Toowong Private Hospital, Queensland, Australia.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Clinical depression is often preceded by social withdrawal, however, limited research has examined whether depressive symptoms are alleviated by interventions that increase social contact. In particular, no research has investigated whether social identification (the sense of being part of a group) moderates the impact of social interventions. METHOD: We test this in two longitudinal intervention studies. In Study 1 (N=52), participants at risk of depression joined a community recreation group; in Study 2 (N=92) adults with diagnosed depression joined a clinical psychotherapy group. RESULTS: In both the studies, social identification predicted recovery from depression after controlling for initial depression severity, frequency of attendance, and group type. In Study 2, benefits of social identification were larger for depression symptoms than for anxiety symptoms or quality of life. LIMITATION: Social identification is subjective and psychological, and therefore participants could not be randomly assigned to high and low social identification conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Findings have implications for health practitioners in clinical and community settings, suggesting that facilitating social participation is effective and cost-effective in treating depression.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Clinical depression is often preceded by social withdrawal, however, limited research has examined whether depressive symptoms are alleviated by interventions that increase social contact. In particular, no research has investigated whether social identification (the sense of being part of a group) moderates the impact of social interventions. METHOD: We test this in two longitudinal intervention studies. In Study 1 (N=52), participants at risk of depression joined a community recreation group; in Study 2 (N=92) adults with diagnosed depression joined a clinical psychotherapy group. RESULTS: In both the studies, social identification predicted recovery from depression after controlling for initial depression severity, frequency of attendance, and group type. In Study 2, benefits of social identification were larger for depression symptoms than for anxiety symptoms or quality of life. LIMITATION: Social identification is subjective and psychological, and therefore participants could not be randomly assigned to high and low social identification conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Findings have implications for health practitioners in clinical and community settings, suggesting that facilitating social participation is effective and cost-effective in treating depression.
Authors: Fabia Cientanni; Kevin Power; Christopher Wright; Fabio Sani; Diane Reilly; Marie-Louise Blake; Kerry Hustings; David Morgan; Stella Clark Journal: Internet Interv Date: 2019-04-27
Authors: Alicia E Meuret; Michael Chmielewski; Ashton M Steele; David Rosenfield; Sibylle Petersen; Jasper A J Smits; Naomi M Simon; Michael W Otto; Luana Marques; Mark H Pollack; Stefan G Hofmann Journal: Behav Res Ther Date: 2016-04-02
Authors: Leanne R Young; Jennifer E Zientz; Jeffrey S Spence; Daniel C Krawczyk; Sandra B Chapman Journal: Mil Med Date: 2021-01-25 Impact factor: 1.437