title: Feeling connected again: interventions that increase social identification reduce depression symptoms in community and clinical settings.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Clinical depression is often preceded by social withdrawal, however, limited research has examined whether depressive symptoms are alleviated by interventions that increase social contact. In particular, no research has investigated whether social identification (the sense of being part of a group) moderates the impact of social interventions.
  
  
  METHODS
  We test this in two longitudinal intervention studies. In Study 1 (N=52), participants at risk of depression joined a community recreation group; in Study 2 (N=92) adults with diagnosed depression joined a clinical psychotherapy group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In both the studies, social identification predicted recovery from depression after controlling for initial depression severity, frequency of attendance, and group type. In Study 2, benefits of social identification were larger for depression symptoms than for anxiety symptoms or quality of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Social identification is subjective and psychological, and therefore participants could not be randomly assigned to high and low social identification conditions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings have implications for health practitioners in clinical and community settings, suggesting that facilitating social participation is effective and cost-effective in treating depression.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia. Electronic address: t.cruwys@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Tegan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cruwys
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alexander Haslam
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Genevieve A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Dingle
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Jolanda
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jetten
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hornsey
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Desdemona Chong
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia; CBT Unit, Toowong Private Hospital, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Tian P S
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Oei
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003256:Community Participation / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012933:Social Identification; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Depression; Group psychotherapy; Loneliness; Mental health; Relapse prevention; Social identification