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Updated: May 21, 2025
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The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
Published on: November 19, 2015
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Sex Differences in the Association between Social Support and Major Depression: A Mediation Analysis with
Yuqing Wu1, Meichen Lu1, Xiaohong Liu1
1Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Mental Health Center of Jiangnan University, 214151 Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
Alpha Psychiatry
|March 20, 2025
Summary
Social support impacts Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) differently in men and women. Interoception, or the awareness of bodily signals, mediates these differences, with distinct aspects playing a role in each sex.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
Background:
- Social support is vital for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) prevention and management.
- Interoceptive processes are influenced by social support.
- Mechanisms of sex differences in social support's effect on MDD remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the mechanism of sex differences in the association between social support and MDD.
- To investigate the mediating role of interoception in this relationship.
Main Methods:
- 390 depressed patients (150 male, 240 female) were assessed.
- Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA-2C), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were utilized.
- Mediation analysis was performed on correlated variables.
Main Results:
- Female patients reported lower social support and more severe depression than males.
- In males, 'Noticing' (MAIA-2C) partially mediated the link between social support and depression.
- In females, 'Self-Regulation' and 'Trusting' (MAIA-2C) partially mediated this link.
Conclusions:
- Females receive less social support, leading to more severe MDD symptoms.
- Interoception mediates the impact of social support quality/adequacy on MDD.
- Sex-specific interoceptive mediation pathways offer a physiological explanation for MDD severity differences.
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