Factors Related to Social Support in Neurological and Mental Disorders

PLoS One. 2016 Feb 22;11(2):e0149356. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0149356. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Despite the huge body of research on social support, literature has been primarily focused on its beneficial role for both physical and mental health. It is still unclear why people with mental and neurological disorders experience low levels of social support. The main objective of this study was to explore what are the strongest factors related to social support and how do they interact with each other in neuropsychiatric disorders. The study used cross-sectional data from 722 persons suffering from dementia, depression, epilepsy, migraine, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, stroke, and substance use disorders. Multiple linear regressions showed that disability was the strongest factor for social support. Extraversion and agreeableness were significant personality variables, but when the interaction terms between personality traits and disability were included, disability remained the only significant variable. Moreover, level of disability mediated the relationship between personality (extraversion and agreeableness) and level of social support. Moderation analysis revealed that people that had mental disorders experienced lower levels of support when being highly disabled compared to people with neurological disorders. Unlike previous literature, focused on increasing social support as the origin of improving disability, this study suggested that interventions improving day-to-day functioning or maladaptive personality styles might also have an effect on the way people perceive social support. Future longitudinal research, however, is warranted to explore causality.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Comorbidity
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Disabled Persons / psychology
  • Factor Analysis, Statistical
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mental Disorders / epidemiology
  • Mental Disorders / psychology*
  • Middle Aged
  • Nervous System Diseases / epidemiology
  • Nervous System Diseases / psychology*
  • Personality
  • Risk Factors
  • Social Support*
  • Socioeconomic Factors

Grants and funding

This study used data for secondary analysis from the international project Psychosocial fActors Relevant to brAin DISorders in Europe (PARADISE). The project was supported by a grant of the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme, Grant Agreement no. HEALTH-F2-2009-241572.