Perceived social support, received social support, and depression among clergy
We argue perceived support is best conceptualized as more a measure of how an individual appraises their situation rather than a true reflection of how much support they receive. To test this theory, we used survey data from the Clergy Health Initiative Panel Survey to examine the relationship between perceived and received social support and their association with depressive symptoms in clergy (N=1,788). Analyses revealed perceived support had a weak association with received support and a significant relationship with lower depressive symptoms. Greater received support had a small relationship with lower depressive symptoms, which was fully mediated by perceived support. Our results raise questions about the effectiveness of many clergy social support interventions, which often aim to boost the quality and/or quantity of received social support. We suggest it may be more advantageous to boost perceptions of social support, possibly through cognitive reframing or positive mental health interventions.
Duke Scholars
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Related Subject Headings
- Social Psychology
- 5205 Social and personality psychology
- 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
- 4410 Sociology
- 1701 Psychology
Citation
Published In
ISSN
Publisher
Related Subject Headings
- Social Psychology
- 5205 Social and personality psychology
- 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
- 4410 Sociology
- 1701 Psychology