How Social Support Adaptively and Maladaptively Influences Depression Risk
Creators: name: Wicks, Jennifer J.
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2023
Subjects: co-brooding
co-problem solving
co-reflection
depression
social support
Stress

description: Social support can provide resources, advice, and reassurance of worth that potentially help with stress management and perceived control, which may reduce depression risk. However, social support can involve both helpful (e.g., co-problem solving [i.e., discussing problem solutions], co-reflection [discussing problem causes or trying to understand problems]) and harmful (e.g., co-brooding (i.e., repetitive negative discussion focusing on negative mood/problem consequences) social coping strategies that may influence social support adaptivity. Evidence for how social support might influence depression risk is highly inconsistent and the extent to which it is protective remains unclear. This dissertation aimed to improve understanding of social support mechanisms that may decrease or increase depression risk. We addressed this goal across five studies. Chapter 1 cross-sectionally tested social support stress-buffering and mediation models in treatment-seeking undergraduates. Chapter 2 cross-sectionally tested replication of Chapter 1 findings in community-based undergraduates, and examined the roles of social coping strategies. Chapter 3 investigated day-to-day social support effects in a national sample of adults (ages 33-84) using random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling (RI-CLPM). Chapter 4 longitudinally tested co-brooding and co-reflection effects on individual coping strategies and depression symptoms in undergraduates during a college semester. Chapter 5 investigated how social coping strategies used in problem discussions amongst pairs of close college friends influenced subsequent perceived stress uncontrollability and mood using multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM). Chapter 1 provides preliminary evidence for reduced stress generation and uncontrollability social support mechanisms in treatment-seeking undergraduates. Chapter 2 replicated evidence for the stress generation model in community-based undergraduates. Social support was associated with lower stress frequency only for women who co-brood less. Chapter 3 showed that previous-day support predicted next-day decreases in stress uncontrollability, but not stress frequency. Previous-day negative mood also predicted next-day increases in support. Many of the associations amongst social support, stress, and negative mood were accounted for by individual differences (random intercepts) that remain stable across a week, rather than day-to-day fluctuations. Chapter 4 found that co-brooding was associated with higher rumination (i.e., repetitive negative thinking) and co-reflection with lower rumination in women. Co-reflection was associated with higher planning. Chapter 5 indicated that co-problem solving and reassurance of worth predicted decreases in uncontrollability in women. Lower uncontrollability was associated with increases in positive mood. Overall, this dissertation suggests that perceived and received social support, reassurance of worth, and co-problem solving may all contribute to making stressors feel more controllable, which may improve positive, but not negative mood. Results support co-brooding and co-reflection as maladaptive and adaptive processes, respectively, and these processes may influence how individuals cope, particularly women.