Cited by 525Health disparities and outcomesMental Health Treatment and AccessAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes

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Social group memberships protect against future depression, alleviate depression symptoms and prevent depression relapse

Cruwys, Tegan, Dingle, Genevieve A., Haslam, Catherine, Haslam, S. Alexander, Jetten, Jolanda, Morton, Thomas A.·2013·Social Science & Medicine

DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.09.013

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Abstract

A growing body of research suggests that a lack of social connectedness is strongly related to current depression and increases vulnerability to future depression. However, few studies speak to the potential benefits of fostering social connectedness among persons already depressed or to the protective properties of this for future depression trajectories. We suggest that this may be in part because connectedness tends to be understood in terms of (difficult to establish) ties to specific individuals rather than ties to social groups. The current study addresses these issues by using population data to demonstrate that the number of groups that a person belongs to is a strong predictor of subsequent depression (such that fewer groups predicts more depression), and that the unfolding benefits of social group memberships are stronger among individuals who are depressed than among those who are non-depressed. These analyses control for initial group memberships, initial depression, age, gender, socioeconomic status, subjective health status, relationship status and ethnicity, and were examined both proximally (across 2 years, N = 5055) and distally (across 4 years, N = 4087). Depressed respondents with no group memberships who joined one group reduced their risk of depression relapse by 24%; if they joined three groups their risk of relapse reduced by 63%. Together this evidence suggests that membership of social groups is both protective against developing depression and curative of existing depression. The implications of these results for public health and primary health interventions are discussed.

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“Social support and enhanced connectedness is strongly associated with improved physical (Uchino, 2006) and mental health (Cruwys et al., 2013), and provides an important method of dealing with nder the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). stressors, thereby…”
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“Social connection has been associated with © Cambridge University Press 2019 decreased rates of depression (Cruwys et al., 2013), decreased risks of cognitive decline (Ertel, 2008) and mortality (Seeman et al., 1987), and greater longevity (Umberson and Montez, 2010).”
Background
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“Social support as a pathway to well-being The link between social support and better mental health has been well established (Cohen & Wills, 1985; Cruwys et al., 2013; Toro et al., 2008).”
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“Previous studies have also suggested that social participation may lower the risk of various negative health outcomes, such as all-cause mortality [23, 24], cognitive decline [25, 26] and depression [27, 28].”
BackgroundResult
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“Consistently, facilitating meaningful social interaction has been reported to effectively prevent and reduce depressive symptoms and relapse rates (107, 108).”
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“The WBA’s logic follows the top-down (dispositional) hypotheses of well-being (Diener, 1984; Diener et al., 1999) that assume that because each person tends to evaluate her or his experiences in a positively or negatively oriented way (Judge and Hulin, 1993), well-being is reflected in its domains.”
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“, connectedness, social group integration) predict reduced subsequent risk for depression (Cruwys et al. 2013; Czyz et al. 2012).”
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“This accords with other research which shows that social identity processes are often most beneficial to those who are particularly vulnerable (see Cruwys et al., 2013).”
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“Specifically, this research has shown that possessing multiple identities (regardless of group type) promotes mental well-being (Cruwys et al., 2013) and adjustment after life transitions (Iyer, Jetten, Tsivrikos, Postmes, & Haslam, 2009; for reviews, see Jetten, Haslam, & Haslam, 2012; Jetten, Haslam, Haslam, Dingle,…”
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“26,27,58 Given that current psychological theory does not implicate either identity or self-esteem in hallucinations, but instead suggests that these experiences are caused by disruption of processes involved in monitoring inner speech, 31 we did not anticipate any relationship between identity and…”
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“156 sense of belongingness, in other words “social connectedness”, may act as a buffer against loneliness (Cruwys et al., 2013; Mellor, Stokes, Firth, Hayashi, & Cummins, 2008). For example, Cruwys et al. (2013) found that social connectedness, measured by the number of social group memberships, was protective against…”
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“…group memberships are protective against developing depression, can be curative of existing depression, and help to prevent depression relapse (Cruwys et al., 2013; Cruwys, Haslam, Dingle, Jetten, et al., 2014), slow cognitive decline in old age (Haslam, Cruwys, & Haslam, 2014; Haslam,…”
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“…given that a growing body of research suggests that social factors – and, in particular, group memberships – are fundamental to people’s health and well-being (e.g., Cruwys et al., 2013, in press; Haslam, Jetten, Postmes, & Haslam, 2009; Helliwell & Putnam, 2004; Jetten, Haslam, & Haslam, 2012).”
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“Studies that examined the effects of social participation according to different types of groups showed that participation in several groups may have a protective effect on depression [23,24], well-being [25], and functional disability [13].”
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“Based on the results of previous longitudinal and experimental studies (e.g., Haslam and Reicher, 2006; Haslam et al., 2009; Cruwys et al., 2013), it is likely that identification determines mental wellbeing rather than vice versa.”
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“In the ﬁeld of health and wellbeing, the social identity approach has been applied to a diverse range of problems, from traumatic brain injury 22 to depression, 23 and has been able to predict health-related behaviors in different contexts.”
Objectively‐measured outdoor time and physical and psychological function among older adults
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Authors: Cruwys, T., Dingle, G. A., Haslam, C., Haslam, S. A., Jetten, J., & Morton, T. A.
Affiliations: The University of Queensland (AU)
University of Exeter (GB)
Corresponding author: Cruwys, Tegan
ORCID: Cruwys, Tegan
Dingle, Genevieve A.
Haslam, Catherine
Haslam, S. Alexander
Jetten, Jolanda
Morton, Thomas A.
Venue: Social Science & Medicine
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Published: 2013-12
Volume: 98
Pages: 179-186
ISSN: 0277-9536 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.09.013
OpenAlex: W1974529215
Cited by: 525
References: 90
Citations by year: 2026: 32 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 49 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 63 · 2021: 54 · 2020: 47 · 2019: 45 · 2018: 41 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 25 · 2014: 19
FWCI: 29.59
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations: Social Science & Medicine (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders: National Institute of Aging in the United States
consortium of UK government departments co-ordinated by the Office for National Statistics
Topics: Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Keywords: social group membership, depression, depression relapse, social connectedness, social ties, protective factors, depression prevention, social networks
MeSH terms: Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Depression, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Middle Aged, Secondary Prevention, Social Participation

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Social group memberships protect against future depression, alleviate depression symptoms and prevent depression relapse

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