The pain of low status: the relationship between subjective socio-economic status and analgesic prescriptions in a Scottish community sample

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

Madhok²,

Norbury

et al. 2015

Self Cite

Purpose Group identification has been shown to be associated with reduced risk of depression, but this research has important limitations. Our aim was to establish a robust link between group identification and depression whilst overcoming previous studies' shortcomings. Methods 1824 participants, recruited from General Practice throughout Scotland, completed a questionnaire measuring their identification with three groups (family, community, and a group of their choice), as well as their intensity of contact with each group. They also completed a self-rated depression measure and provided demographic information. Their medical records were also accessed to determine if they had been prescribed antidepressants in the previous 6 months. Results The number of group identifications was associated with both lower self-rated depression and lower odds of having received a prescription for antidepressants, even after controlling for the number of contact-intensive groups, level of education, gender, age, and relationship status. Conclusions Identifying with multiple groups may help to protect individuals against depression. This highlights the potential importance of social prescriptions, where health professionals encourage a depressed patient to become a member of one or more groups with which the patient believes he/she would be likely to identify.

Section: Methods Participants and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Greater number of group identifications is associated with lower odds of being depressed: evidence from a Scottish community sample

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

Madhok²,

Norbury

et al. 2015

Self Cite

“…Wakefield, Sani, Madhok, Norbury, and Dugard () employed a more robust measure of socioeconomic deprivation, the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD; Scottish Government, ). However, similarly, the SIMD category of the participant's GP practice, rather than of the participant's home, was used to determine socioeconomic deprivation within the sample.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing social group identifications and socioeconomic deprivation as predictors of psychological distress: Evidence from a Scottish primary care sample

Cientanni

Power

British J Social Psychol

et al. 2017

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Social group identification and socioeconomic deprivation have both been linked to self-reported depressive symptoms in general population samples; however, no study to date has explored the strength of the joint predictive value of these factors within a mental health population. The current study explored the impact of social group identifications and socioeconomic deprivation, together with important clinical and demographic variables, on psychological distress in a Scottish mental health sample. Participants (N = 976) were recruited from referrals to a computerized cognitive behavioural therapy (cCBT) programme in Scotland, 'Beating the Blues' (BtB) over a 25-month period. Participants completed the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) as a measure of psychological distress and three versions of the group identifications scale (GIS), one for each of three groups: family, community, and a social group of choice. Demographic information and clinical information were collected on commencing BtB. Higher numbers of group identifications were significantly associated with lower psychological distress. Additionally, increased socioeconomic deprivation was significantly associated with more severe psychological distress; however, interestingly, the association was not as strong as that of group identifications. Identifying with fewer social groups predicts more severe psychological symptom presentations, even more so than living in a greater state of socioeconomic deprivation.

“…This paper only deals with variables and data that are relevant to the present topic: for further analyses, see Sani et al (2015a, b), and Wakefield et al (2016).…”

Section: Combining the Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship Between Group Identification and Satisfaction with Life in a Cross-Cultural Community Sample

Wakefield

Madhok³

et al. 2016

J Happiness Stud

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A variety of studies have shown that group identification (a sense of belonging to one's social group, coupled with a sense of commonality with the group's members) is linked to high levels of satisfaction with life (SWL). The aim of the present study was to support and extend this literature by: (1) investigating the link between group identification and SWL with a large cross-cultural community sample; (2) examining whether the relationship is moderated by nationality; and (3) considering whether SWL is enhanced by possessing multiple group identifications simultaneously. Utilizing data from Wave 1 of the Health in Groups project, 3829 participants from both Scotland and Italy completed a questionnaire assessing their identification with their family, their local community, and a group of their choice, as well as their level of SWL. Higher identification with each group predicted higher SWL. Nationality was a marginal moderator of the relationship between family identification and SWL, with the relationship being stronger for Italian participants than for Scottish participants. There was also an additive effect of group identification, with a positive relationship between the number of groups with which participants identified and their SWL. These effects were obtained even after controlling for gender, age, employment status, nationality, and extent of contact with each group. The implications for healthcare professionals and their patients are discussed.