Minding the gap: Subjective relative deprivation and depressive symptoms

Serial Cascade Effects of Relative Deprivation and Anger Rumination on the Development of Social Aggression Over 2.5 Years in Emerging Adults

Although the mechanisms of development of aggression have been focused on day by day, the complicated effects of distal and proximal factors on the development of social aggression in emerging adults have not been uncovered. A serial cascade model of aggression was proposed to address this issue. A longitudinal investigation over 2.5 years was conducted to test this model by exploring the serial cascade effects of relative deprivation (a representative of distal factors) and anger rumination (a representative of proximal factors) on the development of social aggression. A total of 1113 Chinese university students (Mage = 18.95 ± 0.96, 63.10% female) from six universities in five areas participated in this study. The results suggest that developmental trajectories and longitudinal changes in anger rumination mediate the relationship between developmental trajectories and longitudinal changes in relative deprivation and social aggression, and developmental trajectories and changes in relative deprivation mediate the longitudinal relationship between anger rumination and social aggression. These findings support the serial cascade effects of distal and proximal factors on the development of aggression and expand upon the general aggression model (GAM).

Physical "lying flat": The negative effect of personal relative deprivation on health-promoting lifestyles

BACKGROUND

Social comparison is an inevitable aspect of human life, often leading to personal relative deprivation, wherein individuals experience a sense of unfair treatment when they perceive themselves as being at a disadvantage in comparison to others. Earlier research has observed a phenomenon called "lying flat" associated with personal relative deprivation, characterized by a lack of motivation for self-improvement. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether this pattern is suitable for the domains of health-promoting lifestyles given that health-promoting is driven by self-improvement motivation.

METHODS

In three studies conducted in China, an understudied non-Western society, we investigated the association between personal relative deprivation and health-promoting lifestyles by utilizing diverse measures and samples.

RESULTS

Findings from Study 1 (N = 12,465) indicated a negative relationship between personal relative deprivation and health-promoting behavior. This effect was particularly prominent among older individuals (Study 2, N = 11,378). Study 3 (N = 234) indirectly explored the possibility that a decreased priority given to health goals explains the reduced adoption of health-promoting behaviors when experiencing personal relative deprivation.

LIMITATIONS

First, all health-promoting lifestyles are self-reported. Second, the mechanism between PRD and health-promoting lifestyles was not directly examined.

CONCLUSION

Overall, this research confirms the physical "lying flat" phenomenon, highlighting that personal relative deprivation contributes to unhealthy diets and physical inactivity. Moreover, our findings also suggest that the lower significance placed on health goals relative to other life goals may serve as an underlying reason for this phenomenon.

Impact of Environment on Pain among the Working Poor: Making Use of Random Forest-Based Stratification Tool to Study the Socioecology of Pain Interference

Pain interferes with one's work and social life and, at a personal level, daily activities, mood, and sleep quality. However, little research has been conducted on pain interference and its socioecological determinants among the working poor. Noting the clinical/policy decision needs and the technical challenges of isolating the intricately interrelated socioecological factors' unique contributions to pain interference and quantifying the relative contributions of each factor in an interpretable manner to inform clinical and policy decision-making, we deployed a novel random forest algorithm to model and quantify the unique contribution of a diverse ensemble of environmental, sociodemographic, and clinical factors to pain interference. Our analyses revealed that features representing the internal built environment of the working poor, such as the size of the living space, air quality, access to light, architectural design conducive to social connection, and age of the building, were assigned greater statistical importance than other more commonly examined predisposing factors for pain interference, such as age, occupation, the severity and locations of pain, BMI, serum blood sugar, and blood pressure. The findings were discussed in the context of their benefit in informing community pain screening to target residential areas whose built environment contributed most to pain interference and informing the design of intervention programs to minimize pain interference among those who suffered from chronic pain and showed specific characteristics. The findings support the call for good architecture to provide the spirit and value of buildings in city development.

Effects of relative deprivation on change in displaced aggression and the underlying motivation mechanism: A three-wave cross-lagged analysis

Displaced aggression refers to pernicious acts against innocent people. To date, little is known about mechanisms underlying dynamic changes in displaced aggression. The present study constructed a cross-lagged model to examine the dynamic effects of relative deprivation on displaced aggression and the mediation mechanisms underlying these effects. A total of 1130 undergraduate students participated in this three-wave longitudinal study. The results showed that relative deprivation predicted changes in displaced aggression through concurrent changes in levels of hostile attribution bias and moral disengagement. Hostile attribution bias and moral disengagement could predict each other longitudinally. The relationships between relative deprivation and displaced aggression, and relative deprivation and hostile attribution bias were mutual. This multiple mediation model with two mutually predicting mediators was explained from the aggressive motivation perspective. The findings help inform aggression theories and have implications for the prevention of and interventions against displaced aggression.

The impact of social exclusion on impulsive buying behaviour of consumers on online platforms: Samples from China

Social exclusion is a common phenomenon in modern social life that has significant negative effects on those who were excluded. The excluded may adopt strategic impulsive consumption behaviors in order to gain a sense of belonging and repair social relations, and the rapid development of online shopping platforms has intensified the occurrence of impulsive purchasing behaviors. Therefore, the internal mechanism between the two needs to be clarified. This study utilised SPSS 26.0, Mplus8.0 and HLM6.08 to analyse the data from 417 questionnaires, focused on exploring the internal mechanism between social exclusion and impulsive buying behaviour, and yielded the following conclusions. (1) Social exclusion is positively correlated with impulsive purchasing behaviour. (2) Relative deprivation plays a mediating role between social exclusion and impulsive buying behaviour. (3) The need to belong plays an intermediary role between social exclusion and impulsive buying behaviour. (4) Self-control plays a moderating role between social exclusion and impulsive buying behaviour. These conclusions could provide a basis for enterprises to formulate rational marketing strategies and create consumer demand.

Exploring the relationship between multiple dimensions of subjective socioeconomic status and self-reported physical and mental health: the mediating role of affect

Introduction

This study aimed to investigate the predictive effects of two types of subjective socioeconomic status on self-reported physical and mental health. Specifically, we examined the MacArthur Scale (MacArthur) which measures perceived socioeconomic rank in the society and a novel scale called ComSim, which assessed how participants compared themselves socioeconomically to others coming from a similar socioeconomic background. We also considered the influence of income, education, and personal relative deprivation (PRD) in these analyses. Additionally, we explored whether these effects were mediated through negative and positive affect.

Methods

The data were collected through a cross-sectional, two-wave survey of 294 women and 294 men, with a mean age 41.6 years. Participants were recruited via an online platform.

Results

The results from multivariate regression models revealed that socioeconomic status measured with both the MacArthur Scale and ComSim significantly predicted both self-reported health measures, whereas income and education did not predict any of these measures in the full multivariate models. PRD only predicted self-reported mental health. Mediation analyses showed that negative and positive affect mediated the relationships between socioeconomic status measured by ComSim and self-reported health measures.

Discussion

These findings are discussed in the context of the similarity hypothesis of social comparison theory. The results underscore the importance of considering multiple dimensions when examining socioeconomic health disparities.

The Association Between Relative Deprivation, Depression, and Youth Suicide: Evidence From a Psychological Autopsy Study

OBJECTIVE

Suicide is a serious public health concern in China. In the present study, we investigated the specific mechanisms underlying relative deprivation and suicide in rural China.

METHODS

A large psychological autopsy study was conducted in rural China, in which 392 suicides and 416 community-living controls were consecutively recruited. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between relative deprivation and suicide, with depression as a potential mediator.

RESULTS

Young people who experienced relative deprivation were at a greater risk of suicide and depression. Depression plays a mediating role in the relationship between relative deprivation and suicide.

LIMITATIONS

Due to the limitations of the data, we cannot know whether there is mutual causation between relative deprivation and depression. The self-reported relative deprivation may also produce some influence on the results.

CONCLUSIONS

The current findings demonstrate the importance of relative deprivation as one of the four sources of psychological strain to explain how relative status is associated with suicide. The findings also can be translated into the clinical and preventive practice for suicide.

The influence of subjective socioeconomic status on executive functions in middle-aged and older adults

Subjective socioeconomic status (SES) has been shown to influence both psychological and biological outcomes. However, less is known about whether its influence extends to cognitive outcomes. We examined the relation between subjective SES and executive functions (EF)-a set of cognitive control processes-and its underlying mechanisms. By analyzing a nationally representative cohort of middle-aged and older adults (age 40-80) from the MIDUS 2 National Survey and Cognitive Project, we tested a serial mediation model with sense of control and health as sequential mediators. Using structural equation modeling, we found that subjective SES is indirectly related to EF via sense of control and health, above and beyond objective SES and other key covariates. Our study highlights one of the possible biopsychosocial mechanisms that underlies the relation between status-related subjective perceptions of inequalities and executive functioning skills in middle and late adulthood.

Association of relative deprivation with loneliness and its underlying mechanisms: Evidence from Chinese migrant children

Given the increase in the number of internal migrant children, the mental health problems (e.g., loneliness) of this population have received widespread attention. Relative deprivation is considered to be related to migrant children’s loneliness. However, the underlying mechanisms of this relationship remain unclear. Therefore, the present study tested the possible mediating role of self-esteem and the moderating role of belief in a just world in the association between relative deprivation and loneliness of migrant children. A total of 1,261 Chinese rural-to-urban migrant children (10–15 years old, Mage = 12.34 years, SD = 1.67; 52.0% males, 48.0% females; 23.55% fourth grade students, 16.49% fifth grade students, 19.59% sixth grade students, 15.54% seventh grade students, 13.80% eighth grade students, and 10.86% ninth grade students) were recruited to complete measures of relative deprivation, self-esteem, belief in a just world, loneliness, and demographic variables. Relative deprivation was significantly and positively correlated with migrant children’s loneliness, and this connection could be mediated by self-esteem. Moreover, the first part of the indirect effect of self-esteem on this link was moderated by belief in a just world. These effects were stronger for migrant children with higher levels of belief in a just world. This study reveals the potential mechanisms of relative deprivation affecting loneliness, while also providing insights into how to better help migrant children alleviate loneliness and improve their mental health.

Feelings of Personal Relative Deprivation and Subjective Well-Being in Japan

Personal relative deprivation (PRD) refers to emotions of resentment and dissatisfaction caused by feeling deprived of a deserved outcome compared to some reference. While evidence suggests that relative deprivation based on objective data such as income affects well-being, subjective PRD has been less explored, especially in the East. This study evaluated the relationship between PRD and subjective well-being based on various aspects in the context of Japan. An online questionnaire survey, including the Japanese version of the Personal Relative Deprivation Scale (J-PRDS5) and various well-being indices, was administered to 500 adult participants, balanced for sex and age. Quantitative data analysis methods were used. PRD significantly correlated with subjective well-being as assessed by various aspects. Through mediation analysis, we found that a strong tendency to compare one's abilities with others may undermine subjective well-being through PRD. The results also indicated that well-developed human environments may be associated with the maintenance of subjective well-being levels, even when PRD is high. Toward developing future interventions to improve well-being and health, efforts must be undertaken in Japan to monitor PRD and further clarify the mechanism of the association between PRD and the factors that showed a strong relationship in this study.

Relative deprivation patterns in social and geographical references for health trajectories in China: Investigations of gender and urban-rural disparities

OBJECTIVE

A pervasive link between relative deprivation and health has been well-documented. However, prior studies suffered from inadequate relative deprivation measures that fail to define appropriate reference groups to which individuals compare themselves, and few provided longitudinal evidence. This study explores latent relative deprivation patterns based on multiple social and geographic reference groups, examining their impacts on health trajectories and variations by gender and urban-rural areas.

METHODS

Using three waves (2013, 2015, & 2018) of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (n = 6035), we conducted latent class analysis (LCA) to identify the baseline latent relative deprivation patterns among five social and geographic reference groups (relatives, schoolmates, colleagues, neighbors, and other people in the city or county). The LCA results were linked to the latent growth curve parallel process modeling (PPM) to investigate the impacts of deprivation patterns on dual health trajectories (depressive symptoms and self-rated health), and the results were stratified to explore gender and urban-rural differences.

RESULTS

The LCA revealed a relatively deprived group (36.39%) and a non-deprived group (63.61%). The PPM results indicated that the relatively deprived group showed a higher initial level of depressive symptoms and a lower initial level of self-rated health than the non-deprived group. However, the relatively deprived group showed a slower growth rate in depressive symptoms than the non-deprived group. These findings were particularly evident among women and rural residents.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings emphasize the negative impact of relative deprivation on health. Furthermore, there is a complex interplay in these effects intertwined with gender and locality. Policies aimed at promoting mental health should not only consider relatively deprived groups, but also non-deprived women and rural residents who are at higher risk for later-life depression.

Can digital finance mitigate trust issues for chronically ill patients because of relative deprivation of income?

Objective

The relative deprivation of income among chronically ill patients may create a perception of inequity in their access to quality healthcare, which may lead to a decline in patients' trust and further increases the burden of chronic diseases. Digital finance could be the antidote. To promote equity in healthcare delivery, this study explores the mitigating effect of digital finance by elucidating the relationship between relative deprivation of income and chronically ill patients' trust.

Methods

Using data from the China Family Panel Study, a Poisson regression model was applied to assess the effect of relative deprivation of income on chronically ill patients' trust. A marginal effect analysis was used to verify the effect and a two-stage least squares method was used to test robustness.

Results

Chronically ill patients' trust was at a medium level (5.98 ± 2.05). Relative deprivation of income significantly reduced patients' trust (β=-0.056, p < 0.1). The digital finance had a positive effect on patients' trust (β=0.035, p < 0.01) and alleviated the negative effect of relative deprivation of income on patients' trust (β=0.105, p < 0.01). The instrumental variable estimation results confirmed the robustness of the benchmark regression results.

Conclusions

The inequity resulting from relative deprivation of income undermines patients' trust. Digital finance has a long-term effect on alleviating perception of inequity among chronically ill patients. The government should promote the integration of digital finance and smart healthcare to enhance patients' trust and contribute to equality in healthcare delivery. Limitations include self-reported data and an insufficient correlation between selected indicators and healthcare services.

Personal Relative Deprivation Increases Men's (but Not Women's) Hostile Sexism: The Mediating Role of Sense of Control

Hostile sexism is a blatant and explicit form of sexism consisting of antagonistic attitudes toward women. We hypothesized that men's personal relative deprivation, a subjectively perceived disadvantage, would predict their hostile sexism toward women. In addition, we expected that, if this effect occurs, a sense of control would act as a mediator. Five studies ( N = 1352) confirmed these hypotheses. Study 1 showed that personal relative deprivation predicted hostile sexism only for men, but not for women among Chinese college students. In addition, we observed the effect of personal relative deprivation only on hostile sexism, but not on benevolent sexism. Study 2, which employed participants from the United States, directly replicated the findings of Study 1. Studies 3 and 4 further showed that a sense of control acted as a mediator in this process. As such, increased hostile sexism attitude (Study 3) and hostile sexism behavior (Study 4) predicted by personal relative deprivation could result from a reduced sense of control. Study 5 further provided causal evidence that a temporarily induced state of personal relative deprivation resulted in a higher level of hostile sexism via a reduced sense of control. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for relative deprivation, gender inequality, and interventions.

The Relationship Between Parental Phubbing and Short-Form Videos Addiction Among Chinese Adolescents

"Phubbing" is a new term that is used to define an act of neglecting an individual's companion/s in a daily social context to focus on that individual's smartphone. This study explored the relationship between parental phubbing (PP) and adolescent short-form videos addiction (SFVA), and the mediating role of relative deprivation (RD) and the moderating role of peer communication (PC) in this relationship. A total of 549 high-school students from Northern China voluntarily participated in the survey. The direct effect indicated that PP was positively related to adolescents' SFVA. The mediating effect indicated that RD played a mediating role between PP and adolescents' SFVA. The moderating effect indicated that PC buffered the negative associations of PP/RD with adolescents' SFVA.

Relative Deprivation Leads to the Endorsement of "Anti-Chicken Soup" in China

"Anti-chicken soup" (ACS) persuades people to yield to reality and give up rather than encouraging people to work hard as "chicken soup" does. The current study explored whether people with a higher level of relative deprivation (RD) would be more likely to endorse ACS. We found that people with high-measured (Study 1) and manipulated (Study 2) RD were more likely to endorse ACS. Study 2 also suggested that the effect was mediated by self-handicapping. It seems that relatively deprived individuals may adopt the strategy of self-handicapping so that they could attribute their failure to external causes, which in turn leads to lower motivation to try their best and ultimately the endorsement of ACS.

Relative deprivation and depressive symptoms among Chinese migrant children: The impacts of self-esteem and belief in a just world

Background

Studies have shown that relative deprivation is a risk factor for depressive symptoms, but the underlying mechanisms are not yet clarified. Thus, this study formulated a moderated mediation model to investigate the mediating role of self-esteem and the moderating role of belief in a just world between relative deprivation and depressive symptoms among rural-to-urban migrant children.

Methods

A sample of 1,076 Chinese migrant children (M _age = 12.25 years, SD = 1.66) completed measurements of relative deprivation, self-esteem, belief in a just world, and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the mediating mechanism and moderating effect of the study were explored with the SPSS PROCESS macro (Models 4 and 7).

Results

The results showed a significant positive association between relative deprivation and depressive symptoms, with self-esteem partially mediating this association. Moreover, belief in a just world moderated the association between relative deprivation and self-esteem. Namely, the indirect effect of self-esteem was moderated by belief in a just world. Specifically, the mediating effect was stronger for migrant children with higher levels of belief in a just world.

Conclusion

These findings broaden our knowledge of how and when relative deprivation influences depressive symptoms among migrant children. Therefore, appropriate measures should be taken to prevent and manage migrant children' depression and provide them with corresponding guidance. Some measures could be taken by schools and educators to help migrant children with high relative deprivation in improving their self-esteem and belief in a just world, such as self-reference tasks and psychological intervention programs.

The Relationship Between Bullying Victimization and Cyber Aggression Among College Students: The Mediating Effects of Relative Deprivation and Depression

Introduction

Based on the general aggression model, the present study aims to examine the relationship between bullying victimization and cyber aggression as well as the mediating effects of perceived relative deprivation and depression on this relationship.

Methods

The present study employed a 3-wave longitudinal method featuring 6-month intervals to investigate 795 Chinese college students (476 female; M _age = 19.67). Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the relationships among bullying victimization, perceived relative deprivation, depression and cyber aggression.

Results

The results suggested that bullying victimization positively and significantly predicts cyber aggression in college students and that both perceived relative deprivation and depression play positive mediating roles in this relationship. Moreover, bullying victimization affects cyber aggression via the chain mediating roles of perceived relative deprivation and depression.

Discussion

This study offers valuable insight into ways of considering perceived relative deprivation and depression in the context of prevention and intervention strategies to help attenuate cyber aggression among victims of bullying.

Resilience in the Ranks: Trait Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Buffer the Deleterious Effects of Envy on Mental Health Symptoms among Public Safety Personnel

Public safety personnel (PSP) face frequent stressors that increase their risk of developing symptoms of depression and anxiety. In addition to being exposed to potentially traumatic events, PSP trainees may face a compounded risk of developing mental health symptoms, as their training environments are conducive to social comparisons and the resultant painful emotion of envy. Envy is associated with numerous negative health and occupational outcomes. Fortunately, there are several individual difference factors associated with increased emotional regulation, and such factors may offer resilience against the damaging mental health effects of envy. In this study, we examined the interplay between dispositional mindfulness, self-compassion, and dispositional envy in predicting job satisfaction, stress, experience of positive and negative emotions, subjective resilience, and symptoms of depression and anxiety in a sample of police trainees (n = 104). A substantial minority of trainees reported clinically significant symptoms of depression (n = 19:18.3%) and anxiety (n = 24:23.1%) in accordance with the cut-off scores on screening measures. Consistent with hypotheses, dispositional envy was associated with lower job satisfaction, greater stress, and greater anxiety and depression. Furthermore, envy was associated with higher negative emotions, lower positive emotions, and lower subjective resilience. Dispositional mindfulness and self-compassion were associated with greater job satisfaction, lower stress, and reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety. Moreover, mindfulness and self-compassion were both associated with lower negative emotions, higher positive emotions, and subjective resilience. The associations between envy and the relevant job and mental health outcomes were significantly diminished after controlling for mindfulness and self-compassion. This suggests that these protective traits may serve as transdiagnostic buffers to the effects of envy on mental health. The results of this study confirmed the damaging effects of envy and suggested the potential remediation of these effects through the cultivation of mindfulness and self-compassion.

The effect of personal relative deprivation on food choice: An experimental approach

Growing evidence suggests that relative disadvantage is more relevant than absolute socioeconomic factors in explaining disparities in healthfulness of diet. In a series of pre-registered experiments, we tested whether personal relative deprivation (PRD), i.e. the sense that one is unfairly deprived of a deserved outcome relative to others, results in choosing more palatable, rewarding foods. Study 1 (N = 102) demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of a game for inducing real-time experiences of PRD. Study 2 (N = 287) showed no main effect of PRD condition on hypothetical food choices, but an interaction between chronic PRD and condition revealed that those in the PRD condition chose more rewarding foods when feeling chronically deprived. In Study 3 (N = 260) the hypothesized main effect was found on real, non-hypothetical food choices: those in the PRD condition chose more rewarding foods, controlling for sensitivity to palatable food. Our results provide preliminary indications that the experience of being relatively deprived, rather than the objective amount or resources, may result in a higher preference for high-caloric and palatable foods. It may be suggested that efforts to reduce societal disparities in healthfulness of diet may need to focus on perceptions of injustice beyond objective inequalities.

Biological, Psychological, and Social Determinants of Depression: A Review of Recent Literature

Depression is one of the leading causes of disability, and, if left unmanaged, it can increase the risk for suicide. The evidence base on the determinants of depression is fragmented, which makes the interpretation of the results across studies difficult. The objective of this study is to conduct a thorough synthesis of the literature assessing the biological, psychological, and social determinants of depression in order to piece together the puzzle of the key factors that are related to this condition. Titles and abstracts published between 2017 and 2020 were identified in PubMed, as well as Medline, Scopus, and PsycInfo. Key words relating to biological, social, and psychological determinants as well as depression were applied to the databases, and the screening and data charting of the documents took place. We included 470 documents in this literature review. The findings showed that there are a plethora of risk and protective factors (relating to biological, psychological, and social determinants) that are related to depression; these determinants are interlinked and influence depression outcomes through a web of causation. In this paper, we describe and present the vast, fragmented, and complex literature related to this topic. This review may be used to guide practice, public health efforts, policy, and research related to mental health and, specifically, depression.

Socioeconomic inequalities in impairment associated with depressive symptoms: Evidence from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health

OBJECTIVE

Individuals with low socioeconomic status have higher rates of depression, but it is unknown whether the socioeconomically disadvantaged also have more disabling depressive symptoms. We examined (1) the associations of three indicators of socioeconomic status with depression-related severe role impairment, and (2) whether socioeconomic factors moderate the association between individual depression symptoms and depression-related severe role impairment.

METHODS

We used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Depressive symptoms, role impairment and socioeconomic indicators (poverty, participation in workforce, educational attainment) were self-reported by participants. The analytic sample consisted of participants who screened positive for a depressive episode during past 12 months (n = 32 661). We used survey-weighted logistic models to examine the associations of depressive symptoms with severe role impairment and the modifying effects of socioeconomic indicators.

RESULTS

The association between depression symptom count and severe role impairment was stronger among those not in workforce (OR = 1.12[1.02-1.23]). The association between specific depression symptoms and severe role impairment was stronger for conditions of poverty (fatigue, OR = 2.97 [1.54-5.73]; and anhedonia, OR = 1.93[1.13-3.30]), workforce non-participation (inability to concentrate/indecisiveness, OR = 1.54[1.12-2.12]), and lower educational attainment (anhedonia, OR = 0.77 [0.59-0.99]). Feelings of worthlessness was the only symptom with independent associations for all socioeconomic groups (adjusted OR = 1.91[1.35-2.70]).

CONCLUSION

Depression was more frequent and also more disabling for socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, especially when assessed with workforce participation. Additionally, some specific symptoms showed socioeconomic differences. Our findings highlight the need to prioritize population groups with more severe impairment associated with depressive symptoms.

Feeling matters: perceived social support moderates the relationship between personal relative deprivation and depressive symptoms

BACKGROUND

Little research describes the mechanisms underlying depressive symptoms and personal relative deprivation in Chinese populations.

METHODS

In this study, the respondents were (N = 914) residents of Beijing (17-59 years old) and robust multiple linear regressions were used to assess the main relationship between relative deprivation and depressive symptoms and social support as a potential moderator for that relationship.

RESULTS

Individuals who reported higher personal relative deprivation had greater depressive symptoms than those who reported lower personal relative deprivation. Perceived social support buffered the relationship between depressive symptoms and personal relative deprivation.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this current study demonstrate the importance of relative deprivation for psychological strain and income in explaining how socioeconomic indices correlate with depressive symptoms. They also demonstrate the need to acknowledge the interaction of perceived social support and personal relative deprivation for influencing depression.

Causal explanations of depression on perceptions of and likelihood to choose cognitive behavioural therapy and antidepressant medications as depression treatments

OBJECTIVES

This research examined whether people's causal explanations of depression were associated with acceptability and efficacy-related treatment perceptions and likelihood to choose cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and antidepressant medication (ADM) as depression treatments.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional internet-based design was used.

METHODS

A general population sample was used over a clinical sample to study those who had not yet chosen to enter treatment. A total of 422 individuals were recruited through a crowdsourcing platform to complete an online survey. Measures included perceived causes of depression, perceived acceptability, efficacy and choice likelihood for ADM and CBT, and demographics.

RESULTS

Those with biological causal explanations of depression were more favourable towards ADM on all three perceptual measures of acceptability, efficacy and likelihood to choose ADM as a treatment for depression. Personality/character-related causal explanations of depression were positively related to perceived efficacy and likelihood to choose CBT as a depression treatment. Those endorsing environmental stress causes of depression were more likely to choose CBT as a treatment for depression.

CONCLUSIONS

Results indicated that people's beliefs about the causes of depression were related to their perceptions of and likelihoods to choose ADM and CBT as depression treatments.

PRACTITIONER POINTS

Provides evidence of how different causal explanations of depression influence sufferers' likelihoods to choose ADM and CBT as possible treatments for their depression. Provides support for exploring potential patients' causal explanations about depression prior to recommending a treatment regimen.

Personal relative deprivation impairs ability to filter out threat-related distractors from visual working memory

The literature has indicated that personal relative deprivation (PRD) results in anxiety disorders. Given that some cognitive models propose that attention bias toward a threat causes and maintains anxiety, relatively deprived individuals may have difficulty gating threat from working memory. To test this hypothesis, this study investigated the influence of PRD on the filtering ability of happy, angry, and neutral facial distractors from visual working memory using electroencephalography (EEG). Participants were randomly assigned to a PRD (n = 24) or a non-PRD group (n = 24). Filtering ability was reflected by comparing the contralateral delay activity (CDA) amplitude for one-target, one-target-one-distractor, and two-targets conditions. The CDA was measured as the difference in mean amplitudes between activity in the hemispheres contralateral and ipsilateral to the to-be-remembered information. Results indicated that individuals in the PRD group showed a reduced ability to filter out neutral and angry facial distractors, as reflected by similar CDA amplitudes for one-target-one-distractor and two-targets conditions for both angry and neutral distractors in the PRD group. However, PRD did not impair the ability to filter out happy facial distractors, as reflected by similar CDA amplitudes for one-target-one-distractor and one-target conditions for happy distractors in the PRD group. As neutral faces might then be taken as potentially threatening information by relatively deprived individuals, these results support the hypothesis that relatively deprived individuals might have difficulty filtering out threat-related information.

Fatalism and Depressive Symptoms: Active and Passive Forms of Fatalism Differentially Predict Depression

Classic fatalism is the belief that regardless of actions, events are predestined to occur (Straughan and Seow 1998). Researchers have found that fatalism is positively correlated with depression symptoms and higher endorsement of an external locus of control. Although fatalism is thought to be a unitary construct, based on the current literature, we hypothesized fatalism may take on other forms. We defined active fatalism as the belief in a predestined personal and global future, combined with the belief that one must do their part to bring this predestined future into fruition. Therefore, we predicted that active fatalism will be negatively correlated with depression symptoms, external locus of control, and negative coping skills. We recruited a sample of religious participants online (n = 282; 49.3% female) who completed self-report scales measuring depression symptoms, classic fatalism, active fatalism, coping skills, and locus of control. We found that while classic fatalism was significantly and positively associated with depression and negative coping, active fatalism was positively correlated with positive coping skills, and negatively correlated with depression and external locus of control. Finally, the present study found that active fatalism explained variance in both depression and anxiety symptoms above and beyond the classic form of fatalism. This confirmed our hypotheses and suggested that there may be several forms of fatalism, each differentially predicting mental health processes and outcomes. The significant positive correlation of positive coping and negative correlations of depression and external locus of control with active fatalism offer evidence in support of the notion that this form of fatalism may in fact be associated with protective mechanisms against depression. Differential assessment of these varying concepts may be appropriate for assessment and psychotherapy.

The Relative Deprivation Trap: How Feeling Deprived Relates to Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Introduction: How income inequality associates with poorer mental health remains unclear. Personal relative deprivation (PRD) involves appraising oneself as unfairly disadvantaged relative to similar others and has been associated with poorer mental health and negative cognitive appraisals. As generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is associated with negative cognitive appraisals, PRD may relate to the experience of GAD and its cognitive predictors, intolerance of uncertainty (IU), positive beliefs about worry (PBW), negative beliefs about worry (NBW), and experiential avoidance (EA).

Method: In two observational studies (Study 1, N = 588; Study 2, N = 301) participants completed measures of PRD, cognitive predictors and symptoms of GAD, subjective socioeconomic status (SES), self-efficacy, and self-esteem.

Results: A relationship between PRD and GAD was found across studies, which was simultaneously mediated by IU and NBW. These results remained when controlling for subjective SES but were weakened when controlling for self-concept factors.

Discussion: This research supports the possibility that the experience of deprivation may “trap” people in thinking patterns that contribute to anxious symptomology.

Examining the effectiveness of an online program to cultivate mindfulness and self-compassion skills (Mind-OP): Randomized controlled trial on Amazon's Mechanical Turk

OBJECTIVES

The demand for effective psychological treatments for depression, anxiety, and heightened stress is far outstripping their supply. Accordingly, internet delivered, self-help interventions offer hope to many people, as they can be easily accessed and at a fraction of the price of face-to-face options. Mindfulness and self-compassion are particularly exciting approaches, as evidence suggests interventions that cultivate these skills are effective in reducing depression, anxiety, and heightened stress. We examined the effectiveness of a newly developed program that combines mindfulness, self-compassion, and goal-setting exercises into a brief self-guided intervention (Mind-OP). The secondary aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of conducting a randomized-controlled trial entirely on a popular crowdsourcing platform, Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk).

METHODS

We randomized 456 participants reporting heightened depression, anxiety, or stress to one of two conditions: the 4-week Mind-OP intervention (n = 227) or to an active control condition (n = 229) where participants watched nature videos superimposed onto relaxing meditation music for four consecutive weeks. We administered measures of anxiety, depression, perceived stress, dispositional and state mindfulness, self-compassion, and nonattachment.

RESULTS

Intent-to-treat and per-protocol analyses revealed that, compared to participants in the control condition, participants in the Mind-OP intervention condition reported significantly less anxiety and stress at the end of the trial, as well as significantly greater mindfulness, self-compassion, and nonattachment.

CONCLUSIONS

Mind-OP appears effective in reducing anxiety symptoms and perceived stress among MTurk participants. We highlight issues (e.g., attrition) related to feasibility of conducting randomized trials on crowdsourcing platforms such as MTurk.

The impact of world assumptions on the association between discrimination and internalizing and substance use outcomes

This study investigated whether core beliefs about the world being safe and predictable (i.e. world assumptions) mediated the association between discrimination and internalizing and substance use problems among individuals from marginalized groups. Path analyses tested mediating effects of four types of world assumptions on the association between discrimination (race-, gender-, and sexual orientation-based) and anxiety, depression, alcohol and cannabis problems in college students (N = 1,181, age_mean = 19.50, SD = 1.67). Limited support for mediation by world assumptions was found: among Asian students, race-based discrimination indirectly impacted anxiety symptoms through low perceived controllability of events. Direct effects across groups and discrimination types were also found.

Study on Differences between Patients with Physiological and Psychological Diseases in Online Health Communities: Topic Analysis and Sentiment Analysis

The development of online social platforms has promoted the improvement of online health communities (OHCs). However, OHCs often ignore differences in user discussions caused by the characteristics of diseases. The purpose of this research was to study differences in the topics and emotions of patients with physiological and psychological diseases by mining the text that they posted in OHCs as well as to discuss how to satisfy these differences. The data came from Baidu Post Bar, the world's biggest Chinese forum. We collected 50,230 posts from heart disease, hypertension, depression and obsessive-compulsive bars. Then, we used topic modeling and sentiment analysis techniques on these posts. The results indicate that there are significant differences in the preferences of discussion and emotion between patients with physiological and psychological diseases. First, people with physiological diseases are more likely to discuss treatment of their illness, while people with psychological diseases are more likely to discuss feelings and living conditions. Second, psychological disease patients' posts included more extreme and negative emotions than those of physiological disease patients. These results are helpful for society to provide accurate medical assistance based on disease type to different patients, perfecting the national medical service system.

Association between area deprivation and major depressive disorder in British men and women: a cohort study

OBJECTIVE

Studies have shown area-level deprivation can increase the risk for mental disorders over and above individual-level circumstances, such as education and social class. The objective of this study is to determine whether area deprivation is associated with major depressive disorder (MDD) in British women and men separately while adjusting for individual-level factors.

DESIGN

Large, population study.

SETTING

UK population-based cohort.

PARTICIPANTS

30 445 people from the general population aged 40 years and older and living in England consented to participate at study baseline, and of these, over 20 000 participants completed a structured Health and Life Experiences Questionnaire used to capture MDD. Area deprivation was measured in 1991 using Census data, and current MDD was assessed in 1996-2000. 8236 men and 10 335 women had complete data on all covariates.

PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE

MDD identified according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV).

RESULTS

In this study, 3.3% (339/10 335) of women and 2.1% (177/8236) of men had MDD. Men living in the most deprived areas were 51% more likely to have depression than those living in areas that were not deprived (OR=1.51, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.24; p=0.043), but the association between deprivation and MDD was not statistically significant in women (OR=1.24, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.65; p=0.143).

CONCLUSION

This study shows that the residential environment differentially affects men and women, and this needs to be taken into account by mental health policy-makers. Knowing that men living in deprived conditions are at high risk for having depression helps inform targeted prevention and intervention programmes.

Perceptions of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Antidepressant Medication for Depression After Brief Psychoeducation: Examining Shifts in Attitudes

The majority of people with depression in the United States either never seek treatment or gravitate exclusively to antidepressant medication (ADM), despite the existence of other effective treatments, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Reluctance to use psychotherapy is partly due to lack of appropriate mental health literacy and perceptions of low treatment acceptability (appropriateness for a given problem) and credibility (treatment logicalness, and whether the patient expects improvement). In the current investigation, we examined whether providing psychoeducation about CBT for depression would change participant perceptions of the treatment's acceptability and credibility. We recruited 554 (female n = 314; 57%) participants across two online studies, and assessed their baseline perceptions of CBT and ADM using modified Treatment Acceptability (TAAS) and Treatment Credibility and Expectancy (CEQ) scales. Participants were subsequently presented with evidence-based, expert-vetted psychoeducational materials describing CBT and ADM, and were asked to recomplete the TAAS and CEQ. In Study 1, participants endorsed significantly higher CBT-CEQ (credibility/expectancy) scores postpsychoeducation. In Study 2, participants endorsed significantly lower CBT-TAAS (acceptability), and among those with no exposure to depression treatments, endorsed significantly higher CBT-CEQ scores postpsychoeducation. In both studies, there were no perceptual changes of ADM after the psychoeducation. Finally, in Study 2, endorsement of a biological model of depression and depressive symptoms were negatively predictive of CBT's acceptability and credibility and expectancy postpsychoeducation. Perceptions of credibility and expectancy of CBT for depression appear malleable even after exposure to brief psychoeducation, whereas shifting perceptions of CBT's acceptability may require more extensive intervention.

Relative deprivation and its association with health indicators: Lower inequality may not improve health

This study tested the hypothesis of relative deprivation (RD) to investigate how inequality is associated with health and health related behaviors in a developing country context. Data from two nationally representative surveys in 2010, 2012, and 2014 were used to estimate logit and ordered logit models stratified by sex. RD was calculated based on both income and education, unlike most studies in the earlier literature that relied only on income. All results of the study were found to be robust to alternative reference groups. First, consistent with the earlier literature, RD was found to be positively correlated with indicators of poor health. Secondly, and more interestingly, unlike the results in the earlier RD literature, women with more income or education (and lower RD) were found to be more likely to be current smokers and more likely to consume a higher number of cigarettes. The main policy implication is that reducing inequality can help improve self-rated health indicators, but it will not be sufficient to achieve health policy goals. Unless smoking patterns change, reducing inequalities in income or education among women will not necessarily lead to better health; because smoking is more common among better educated and richer women.

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We investigate how relative deprivation (RD) is associated with health and health related behaviors.

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We use data from two nationally representative surveys in 2010–2014 in Turkey.

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Higher RD is positively correlated with indicators of poor health.

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More interestingly, higher RD is negatively correlated with smoking among women.

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Reducing inequalities in income or education among women will not necessarily lead to better health.

Stacking Up With the Stars: Relative Deprivation and Excessive Admiration of Celebrities

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether celebrity admiration is associated with personal relative deprivation, impulsivity, and materialism. We gave the Celebrity Attitude Scale, the Personal Relative Deprivation Scale, the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status, a subscale from the Consideration of Future Consequences-14, and the Material Values Scale, to 149 respondents recruited through Mechanical Turk. We found a weak but significant association between personal relative deprivation and celebrity attitudes. We successfully replicated earlier research showing that celebrity attitudes were positively correlated with material values and impulsivity. Personal relative deprivation also correlated positively with both material values and impulsivity. These findings suggest that the constructs of personal relative deprivation and celebrity attitudes appear to have much in common as both are associated with poor quality of life.

The impact of personal relative deprivation on aggression over time

Being at a disadvantage and perceiving this predicament to be unfair are at the core of the experience of personal relative deprivation. Previous research has shown that personal relative deprivation is associated with interpersonal aggression. The present longitudinal study extended these investigations by examining the impact of personal relative deprivation on aggression over time. In fact, personal relative deprivation at Time 1 was associated with reported aggression at Time 2 even when controlling for the impact of aggression at Time 1. As a secondary goal, we aimed to show that the effect of personal relative deprivation (i.e., increased aggression) may spread through the participant's social network. Egocentric networking data showed that individuals who perceive their friends as being personally deprived are more aggressive and that this relationship statistically holds when taking the individual's level of personal relative deprivation into account. Limitations of this approach are discussed.

Does stress mediate the association between personal relative deprivation and gambling?

Evidence has linked subjective feelings of personal relative deprivation with general gambling involvement and problem gambling tendencies. In turn, problem gambling tendencies have been linked with a wide array of damaging physical and mental health consequences. It has been theorized that the deleterious effects of perceived inequality on mental and physical health operate at the individual level through the experience of personal relative deprivation leading to psychosocial stress. We empirically examined whether the experience of perceived stress contributes to explaining the deprivation-gambling link using cross-sectional, self-reported survey data collected from a crowdsourced population of adults (n = 565). Results indicate that personal relative deprivation is associated with problem gambling tendencies (but not general gambling involvement) and that this association is mediated by perceived stress. These associations were particularly strong among participants who reported non-zero levels of problem gambling tendencies. Together, our results further emphasize the importance of individual-level social comparison reactions in the context of health.

Personal relative deprivation associated with functional disorders via stress: An examination of fibromyalgia and gastrointestinal symptoms

BACKGROUND

Personal relative deprivation is a negative social comparison process typified by self-comparison, negative appraisal, and resultant negative emotionality. Personal relative deprivation has been associated with poorer physical and mental health in several domains. It has been hypothesized that the deprivation-health link operates through a stress pathway. Stress has been specifically implicated in the onset and maintenance of functional disorders, including fibromyalgia and functional gastrointestinal disorders. Despite the theoretical links between personal deprivation, stress, and functional disorders, researchers have not assessed relationships between these variables.

METHODS

We recruited community participants (n = 517; 54.9% female) to examine whether personal relative deprivation can account for variance in fibromyalgia and functional gastrointestinal symptoms beyond known demographic correlates of physical health. We also examined whether the relationships between personal relative deprivation and functional disorder symptoms are mediated by stress.

RESULTS

Consistent with our hypotheses, personal relative deprivation accounted for symptom variance in fibromyalgia and functional gastrointestinal disorders beyond that accounted for by demographic variables alone. Further, self-reported stress was found to mediate relationships between personal relative deprivation and fibromyalgia and gastrointestinal symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

The current results support biopsychosocial models of physical health and suggest that, for patients presenting with functional disorders symptoms, a combination of biological and psychosocial interventions may be warranted.