Reduced Social Connectedness and Compassion Toward Close Others in Patients With Chronic Depression Compared to a Non-clinical Sample.

Artjom Frick,Stefan G Hofmann,Sabine Windmann,Ulrich Stangier,Isabel Thinnes

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.608607

Artjom Frick, Stefan G Hofmann + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.608607

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Abstract

Reduced social functioning in depression has been explained by different factors. Reduced social connectedness and prosocial motivation may contribute to interpersonal difficulties, particularly in chronic depression. In the present study, we tested whether social connectedness and prosocial motivation are reduced in chronic depression. Forty-seven patients with persistent depression and 49 healthy controls matched for age and gender completed the Inclusion of the Other in the Self Scale (IOS), the Compassionate Love Scale (CLS), the Beck Depression Inventory-II, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. A Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with IOS and CLS as dependent variables revealed a highly significant difference between both groups. The IOS and the CLS-subscale Close Others were lower in persistent depression, whereas there was no difference in the CLS-subscale Strangers/Humanity. IOS and CLS-Close Others showed significant negative correlations with depressive symptoms. Connectedness to family members as measured by the IOS was negatively correlated with childhood trauma in patients with chronic depression. The results indicate that compassion and perceived social connection are reduced in depressed patients toward close others, but not to others in general. Implications for the treatment of depression are discussed.

Highlights

Depression is associated with a low level of social integration and connectedness [1] and reduced social functioning [2]
Our hypothesis that patients with chronic depression would report lower perception of social connectedness as compared to healthy controls was supported by significant differences in the Inclusion of Other in the Self scale (IOS) scale
This is consistent with longitudinal data indicating bi-directional correlations between depressive symptoms and objective indicators of social disconnectedness, such as the frequency of social interactions, as well as the perception of social isolation during episodes of major depression [8]

Summary

Introduction

Depression is associated with a low level of social integration and connectedness [1] and reduced social functioning [2]. According to the social identity theory, the impairment of interpersonal relationships and social isolation affects the attachment to close others as well as the belonging to groups, resulting in a loss of social connectedness [6, 7]. A recent longitudinal study which used objective indicators of social connectedness demonstrated that there are strong bidirectional associations between. The perception of belonging to others, rather than objective social interaction, may be the component of social connectedness most relevant to the development and maintenance of depression [1, 7]. Social connectedness is associated with increased motivation to make contact with other people [9] and may be a mediator of the positive effects of social competence and social support on mental health [10]

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