School of Economics and Management, Kochi University of Technology, Kochi 782-8502, Japan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Feb 8;18(4):1585. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18041585.
There is ample evidence to indicate the direct effects of receiving social support on mental health during and after a disaster. However, the importance of reciprocal exchanges of social support (i.e., balanced receipt and provision of social support) in maintaining the mental health status of individuals is not widely recognized. Using equity theory and reciprocity norms as a conceptual base, we distinguished two types of social support, namely, emotional support and instrumental support, and examined the effects of reciprocal exchanges of types of support on depression in survivors of an earthquake-damaged community. To collect data, in 2019, a questionnaire survey was conducted among 295 survivors of the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake in a rural village in Nepal. Our results showed that the relationship between reciprocal exchange of support and depression varied depending on the types of support. The amount of emotional support received by the individual alleviated his/her depression only when accompanied by giving emotional support. By contrast, the net amount of instrumental support given by the individual increased his/her depression. The practical implications of the study are discussed.
有充分的证据表明，在灾难期间和之后，获得社会支持对心理健康有直接影响。然而，社会支持的互惠交流（即平衡地接受和提供社会支持）在维持个体心理健康状况方面的重要性尚未得到广泛认可。本研究使用公平理论和互惠规范作为概念基础，区分了两种类型的社会支持，即情感支持和工具性支持，并考察了支持类型的互惠交流对地震灾区社区幸存者抑郁的影响。为了收集数据，我们于 2019 年在尼泊尔一个农村村庄对 2015 年戈尔卡地震的 295 名幸存者进行了问卷调查。结果表明，支持的互惠交流与抑郁之间的关系取决于支持的类型。个体收到的情感支持量只有在伴随着给予情感支持时才会减轻其抑郁程度。相比之下，个体给予的工具性支持的净量会增加其抑郁程度。讨论了该研究的实际意义。
