This study examined the relationship between perceived levels of social support and non-supportive interactions on the depression levels of 82 low-income, Dominican-born adults living in the United States. It was found that there was a significant and positive correlation between perceived levels of social support and nonsupportive interactions. This relationship suggests that Dominicans who report more supportive interactions are also more involved in nonsupportive relationships. It was also found that individuals who reported more social support experienced lower levels of depression. However, non-supportive interactions were not related with depressive levels.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Aneshensel, C. A.
, Frerichs, R., & Clark, V. (1981). Family roles and sex differences in depression. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22, 379-393.
2.
Barrera, R.
, Sandler, I., & Ramsay, T. (1981). Preliminary development of a scale of social support: Studies on college students. American Journal of Community Psychology, 9, 435-447.
3.
Belle, D.
(1982). Lives in stress. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
4.
Belle, D.
(1990). Poverty and women’s mental health. American Psychologist, 45, 385-389.
5.
Brislin, R.
(1990). Applied cross cultural psychology. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
6.
Brown, G.
, & Harris, T. (1989). Life events and illness. New York: Guilford.
7.
Cobb, S.
(1976). Social support as a moderator of life stress. Psychosomatic Medicine, 38, 300-324.
8.
Comas-Diaz, L.
(1995) Cultural diversity: From the melting pot to the tossed salad. The Psychology Teacher Network, 5, 2-5.
9.
Escobar, J.
, & Randolph, E. (1982). The Hispanic and the social networks. In R. Becerra & M. Karno (Eds.), Mental health and Hispanic-Americans: Clinical perspectives. New York: Grunt and Straton.
10.
Franks, P.
, Shields, C., Campbell, T., McDaniel, S., Harp, J., & Botelho, R. (1992). Association of social relationships with depressive symptoms: Testing an alternative to social support. Journal of Family Psychology, 6, 49-59.
11.
Gottlieb, B.
(1994, August). Symposium: Stress, coping, and support process in the context of marriage. Paper presented at the 102nd annual American Psychological Association.
12.
Guarnaccia, P., J.
, Angel, R., & Woreby, J., L. (1989). The factor structure of the CES-D in the Hispanic health survey: The influences of ethnicity, gender and language. Social Science & Medicine, 29, 85-94.
13.
House, J.
(1981). Work stress and social support. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
14.
Jalali, B.
(1987). Ethnicity, cultural adjustment and behavior: Implications for family therapy. In L. Comas-Diaz & E. Griffith (Eds.), Clinical guidelines in cross-cultural mental health.New York: John Wiley.
15.
La Roche, M. (1996). Self-orientations and depression levels among Dominicans in the United States (Doctoral dissertation, University of Massachusetts–Boston). Dissertation Abstracts International, 54, A58794.
16.
La Roche, M.
, & Turner, C. (1997). Self-orientation and depression levels among Dominicans in the United States. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 19, 479-488.
17.
La Roche, M.
, Turner, C., & Kalick, M. (1995). Latina mothers and their toddlers’behavioral difficulties. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Science, 17, 375-384.
18.
Marin G.
, & Van Oss-Marin, B., (1991). Research with Hispanic populations. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
19.
Masten, W.
, Caldwell-Colbert, T., Alcala, S., & Mijares, B. (1986). Confiabilidad y validez de la escala de depresion del centro de estudios epidemiologicos. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 8, 77-84.
20.
Norbeck, J.
, Lindsey, A., & Carrieri, V. (1981). The development of an instrument to measure social support. Nursing Research, 30, 264-269.
21.
Norbeck, J.
, Lindsey, A., & Carrieri, V. (1983). Further development of the Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire: Normative data and validity testing. Nursing Research, 32, 4-10.
22.
Radloff, L.
(1977). The CES-D scale: A self report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurements, 1, 385-401.
23.
Roberts, R.
, Vernon, S., & Rhoades, H. (1989). Effects of language and ethnic status on reliability and validity of the center for epidemiologic studies-depression scale with psychiatric patients. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 177, 581-592.
24.
Rook, K.
(1984). The negative side of social interaction: Impact on psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 1097-1108.
25.
Sarason, B.
, Pierce, G., & Sarason, I. (1990). Social support: The sense of acceptance and the role of relationships. In B. R. Sarason, & G. R. Pierce (Eds.), Social support: An interactional view (pp. 97-128). New York: John Wiley.
26.
Turner, H.
(1994). Gender and social support: Taking the bad with the good?Sex Roles, 30, 521-541.
27.
U.S. Department of Commerce
. (1993). Persons of Hispanic origin in the United States 1990. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
28.
Vega, W.
, Kolody, B., & Valle, J. (1986). The relationship of marital status, confidant support, and depression among Mexican-American Women. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 597-605.
