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Li G, Li Y, Lam AIF, Tang W, Seedat S, Barbui C, Papola D, Panter-Brick C, Waerden JVD, Bryant R, Mittendorfer-Rutz E, Gémes K, Purba FD, Setyowibowo H, Pinucci I, Palantza C, Acarturk C, Kurt G, Tarsitani L, Morina N, Burchert S, Patanè M, Quero S, Campos D, Huizink AC, Fuhr DC, Spiller T, Sijbrandij M, Hall BJ. Understanding the protective effect of social support on depression symptomatology from a longitudinal network perspective. BMJ Ment Health 2023; 26:e300802. [PMID: 38030405 PMCID: PMC10689368 DOI: 10.1136/bmjment-2023-300802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Higher social support protects people from developing mental disorders. Limited evidence is available on the mechanism through which social support plays this protective role. OBJECTIVE To investigate the stress-buffering process of social support on depressive symptoms using a novel longitudinal dynamic symptom network approach. METHODS A total of 4242 adult participants who completed the first two waves (from May to October 2020) of the International Covid Mental Health Survey were included in the study. Cross-lagged panel network modelling was used to estimate a longitudinal network of self-reported social support, loneliness and depressive symptoms. Standardised regression coefficients from regularised cross-lagged regressions were estimated as edge weights of the network. FINDINGS The results support a unidirectional protective effect of social support on key depressive symptoms, partly mediated through loneliness: A higher number of close confidants and accessible practical help was associated with decreased anhedonia (weight=-0.033) and negative self-appraisal symptoms (weight=-0.038). Support from others was also negatively associated with loneliness, which in turn associated with decreased depressed mood (weight=0.086) and negative self-appraisal (weight=0.077). We identified a greater number of direct relationships from social support to depressive symptoms among men compared with women. Also, the edge weights from social support to depression were generally stronger in the men's network. CONCLUSIONS Reductions in negative self-appraisal might function as a bridge between social support and other depressive symptoms, and, thus, it may have amplified the protective effect of social support. Men appear to benefit more from social support than women. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Building community-based support networks to deliver practical support, and loneliness reduction components are critical for depression prevention interventions after stressful experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gen Li
- Center for Global Health Equity, New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China
| | - Yifan Li
- Center for Global Health Equity, New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China
| | - Agnes Iok Fong Lam
- Centre for Macau Studies, University of Macau, Macau, China
- Department of Communications, University of Macau, Macao, China
| | - Weiming Tang
- Center for Global Health Equity, New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China
- University of North Carolina Project-China, Guangzhou, China
| | - Soraya Seedat
- SAMRC Genomics of Brain Disorders Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Corrado Barbui
- Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement, University of Verona, Verona, UK
| | - Davide Papola
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health and Service Evaluation, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | | | - Judith van der Waerden
- Institut Pierre Louis d'Épidémiologie et de Santé Publique (iPLesp), Sorbonne Université and INSERM, Paris, Île-de- France, France
| | - Richard Bryant
- School of Psychology, UNSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ellenor Mittendorfer-Rutz
- Division of Insurance Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Katalin Gémes
- Division of Insurance Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Fredrick D Purba
- Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia
| | - Hari Setyowibowo
- Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia
| | - Irene Pinucci
- Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Christina Palantza
- Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Ceren Acarturk
- Department of Psychology, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Gülşah Kurt
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Lorenzo Tarsitani
- Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Naser Morina
- Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Burchert
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Martina Patanè
- Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, and WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Dissemination of Psychological Interventions, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Soledad Quero
- Department of Basic, Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume I, Castello de la Plana, Castellón, Spain
- CIBER de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain
| | - Daniel Campos
- Department of Psychology and Sociology, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Anja C Huizink
- Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, and WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Dissemination of Psychological Interventions, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Daniela C Fuhr
- Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Tobias Spiller
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Marit Sijbrandij
- Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, and WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Dissemination of Psychological Interventions, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Brian J Hall
- Center for Global Health Equity, New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China
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