University of Exeter Medical School, St Luke's Campus, Exeter, EX1 2LU, UK.
School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072 , Australia.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Oct 29;24(1):2992. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-20432-w.
Loneliness is a common experience following stroke. Stroke support groups may protect against loneliness, but little is known about how these groups exert their influence. This research drew upon current theorising on the role of groups for health and explored i) social identification as a potential mechanism for overcoming loneliness, and ii) psychological group resources (support, control, self-esteem), and functional group processes (clear goals, group autonomy, member continuity) which might structure social identification.
Five hundred seventy-nine stroke survivors from 84 Stroke Association support groups across the UK completed a cross-sectional survey measuring: support group identification; psychological resources (given and received social support, control, self-esteem, identity centrality); functional processes (goal clarity, group autonomy, member continuity); and loneliness (3-item UCLA Loneliness Scale).
Greater support group identification was associated with reduced loneliness (β = -0.45, p < 0.001). Given (β = 0.17, p = 0.001) and received (β = 0.10, p < 0.001) social support, goal clarity (β = 0.17, p = 0.002), and group member continuity (β = 0.19, p < 0.001) were all associated with greater support group identification.
Social identification with the group may be a mechanism by which stroke support groups alleviate loneliness, potentially through facilitating attendance, mutual social support and the development of collective goals. Further research should explore how these processes influence social identification in newly formed groups, where social identity has not yet been established.
孤独是中风后常见的经历。中风支持小组可能会预防孤独，但对于这些小组如何发挥作用知之甚少。本研究借鉴了当前关于群体对健康作用的理论，并探讨了 i）社会认同作为克服孤独感的潜在机制，以及 ii）心理群体资源（支持、控制、自尊）和功能群体过程（明确目标、群体自治、成员连续性），这些可能会影响社会认同。
来自英国 84 个中风协会支持小组的 579 名中风幸存者完成了一项横断面调查，测量了：支持小组认同；心理资源（给予和接受的社会支持、控制、自尊、身份中心性）；功能过程（目标清晰度、群体自治、成员连续性）；以及孤独感（3 项 UCLA 孤独量表）。
更强的支持小组认同与孤独感降低相关（β=-0.45，p<0.001）。给予（β=0.17，p=0.001）和接受（β=0.10，p<0.001）的社会支持、目标清晰度（β=0.17，p=0.002）和群体成员连续性（β=0.19，p<0.001）都与更强的支持小组认同相关。
对小组的社会认同可能是中风支持小组减轻孤独感的一种机制，可能是通过促进参与、相互社会支持和制定集体目标。进一步的研究应该探讨这些过程如何影响新成立的群体中的社会认同，因为在新成立的群体中，社会认同尚未建立。
