The Association of Biological and Psychological Attributions for Depression with Social Support Seeking Intentions in Individuals with Depressive Symptoms

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 605-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca K. Blais ◽  
Keith D. Renshaw
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Informal Support ◽  
Professional Help ◽  
Lower Likelihood ◽  
Social Support Seeking ◽  
Support Seeking

Background: Research suggests that biological and psychological attributions for depression are related to professional help-seeking, but the association of these attributions with informal support seeking in social relationships is unknown. As social support is linked with recovery from depression and a lower likelihood of experiencing future episodes of depression, it is important to understand factors that influence an individual's decision to seek social support. Aims: The present study examined depressed individuals’ own attributions for their depressive symptoms (i.e. personal attributions), perceptions of a friend's attributions for these symptoms (i.e. perceived attributions), and the depressed individuals’ willingness to seek social support from that friend. Method: Eighty-six individuals experiencing at least mild depressive symptoms completed self-report measures of personal attributions, perceived attributions, and a social support seeking intentions scale. Results: Participants’ own attributions for depressive symptoms were unrelated to their willingness to seek social support. In contrast, perceived biological attributions were related to greater help-seeking intentions, whereas perceived psychological attributions were associated with lower support seeking intentions. Conclusions: These results suggest that decisions to seek social support are more influenced by perceptions of others’ beliefs about depression than one's own beliefs.

scholarly journals Peer Victimization and Depressive Symptoms During Adolescence: Examining the Roles of Social Support and Internalizing Coping

2020 ◽  
pp. 027243162093119
Author(s):  
Allie M. Spiekerman ◽  
Melissa R. Witkow ◽  
Adrienne Nishina
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Peer Victimization ◽  
Sixth Grade ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Social Support Seeking ◽  
Support Seeking ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Effective Buffer

The purpose of this study was to examine how two coping strategies together moderate the relationship between peer victimization and adjustment among young adolescents. Sixth-grade adolescents from California, Oregon, and Wisconsin ( N = 1,058) self-reported peer victimization, depressive symptoms, and their utilization of social support seeking and internalizing coping. A regression analysis showed a significant three-way interaction between peer victimization, internalizing coping, and social support seeking in predicting depressive symptoms. Further analyses revealed that social support seeking only buffered the negative effects of peer victimization for participants who scored high on internalizing coping. Despite mean-level gender differences in these variables, gender did not moderate this association, suggesting that social support is an effective buffer against depressive symptoms following peer victimization for both boys and girls. These results suggest that attending to the variety of coping strategies adolescents employ simultaneously will help further our understanding of peer victimization outcomes.

scholarly journals Bridging the gap between child mental health need and professional service utilisation: Examining the influence of mothers’ parental attributions on professional help-seeking intentions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vilas Sawrikar ◽  
Antonio Mendoza Diaz ◽  
Lucy Tully ◽  
David J. Hawes ◽  
Caroline Moul ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Subgroup Analysis ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Child Mental Health ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Utilisation ◽  
Parental Attributions ◽  
Professional Help

AbstractThere is a significant gap between the need for child mental health services and use of these services by families. Parental attributions may play a role in this. This study examined whether mothers’ attributions about their child’s problems influence professional help-seeking intentions in a general sample of community mothers. Secondary analysis re-examined this hypothesis in a subgroup of mothers of children with clinically elevated mental health symptoms. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from mothers (N = 184) of children aged between 2 and 12 years recruited from the community. Mothers completed self-report questionnaires measuring parental attributions: child-responsible attributions and parental self-efficacy; professional help-seeking intentions; and psychosocial covariates: child mental health, mothers’ anxiety and depression, child age, gender, marital status, education, and professional help-seeking experience. Hierarchical regression modelling indicated that parental attributions explained professional help-seeking intentions after controlling for covariates in both the general sample (ΔF = 6.07; p = .003) and subgroup analysis (ΔF = 10.22, p = .000). Professional help-seeking intentions were positively associated with child-responsible attributions (β = .19, p = .002) but not parental self-efficacy (β =  – .01, p = .865) in the general sample, while positively associated with child-responsible attributions (β = .20, p = .009) and negatively associated with parental self-efficacy (β =  – .16, p = .034) in the subgroup analysis. Findings were independent of the presence of clinically elevated symptoms, problem type, and severity. Overall, the findings support models suggesting that parental attributions have a role in professional help-seeking for child mental health problems.

The Interplay of Appraisals, Specific Coping Styles, and Depressive Symptoms Among Young Male and Female Gamblers

2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 212-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly Matheson ◽  
Michael J.A. Wohl ◽  
Hymie Anisman
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Coping Styles ◽  
Young Male ◽  
Outcome Expectancies ◽  
Treatment Seeking ◽  
Treatment Results ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Social Support Seeking ◽  
Support Seeking ◽  
Gender Variations

The present study assessed gambling appraisals and specific coping styles among 400 young male (n = 230) and female (n = 170) gamblers. Of particular interest was to determine whether gender variations in stress-related responses are associated with the degree of gambling pathology, depressive symptoms, and attitude to seeking treatment. Results showed that greater appraisals of threat, illusions of control, and negative outcome expectancies were associated with higher levels of gambling pathology, particularly among males. Further, among women, gambling propensity was associated with reduced social support seeking, whereas for men gambling pathology was primarily accounted for by increased use of wishful thinking. These coping strategies, combined with other internally oriented emotion-focused strategies, mediated the relation between gambling and depressive symptoms. Not surprisingly, more positive attitudes to treatment seeking were reported by those with a greater propensity to use problem-solving and support seeking coping efforts. The utility of assessing specific components that comprise a gambler’s stress-response is discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document