The association of biological and psychological attributions for depression with social support seeking intentions in individuals with depressive symptoms.

BACKGROUND

Research suggests that biological and psychological attributions for depression are related to professional help-seeking, but the association of these attributions with informal support seeking in social relationships is unknown. As social support is linked with recovery from depression and a lower likelihood of experiencing future episodes of depression, it is important to understand factors that influence an individual's decision to seek social support.

AIMS

The present study examined depressed individuals' own attributions for their depressive symptoms (i.e. personal attributions), perceptions of a friend's attributions for these symptoms (i.e. perceived attributions), and the depressed individuals' willingness to seek social support from that friend.

METHOD

Eighty-six individuals experiencing at least mild depressive symptoms completed self-report measures of personal attributions, perceived attributions, and a social support seeking intentions scale.

RESULTS

Participants' own attributions for depressive symptoms were unrelated to their willingness to seek social support. In contrast, perceived biological attributions were related to greater help-seeking intentions, whereas perceived psychological attributions were associated with lower support seeking intentions.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that decisions to seek social support are more influenced by perceptions of others' beliefs about depression than one's own beliefs.