@article{ref1,
title="Greater number of group identifications is associated with lower odds of being depressed: evidence from a Scottish community sample",
journal="Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology",
year="2015",
author="Sani, Fabio and Madhok, Vishnu and Norbury, Michael and Dugard, Pat and Wakefield, Juliet R. H.",
volume="50",
number="9",
pages="1389-1397",
abstract="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. <br><br>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. <br><br>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. <br><br>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.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0933-7954",
doi="10.1007/s00127-015-1076-4",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00127-015-1076-4"
}