| Zhu Lan,Li Jie,Li Meijuan,Gao Ying,Relationship between social support and depressive symptoms in patients with major depressive disorder： the pathway of empathy[J].SICHUAN MENTAL HEALTH,2025,(2):166-171 |
| Relationship between social support and depressive symptoms in patients with major depressive disorder： the pathway of empathy |
DOI：10.11886/scjsws20240809001 |
| English keywords:Depressive Social Support Empathy Mediating effect |
| Fund projects: |
|
| Hits: |
| Download times: |
| English abstract: |
| Background Social support can help alleviate depressive symptoms in patients with major depressive disorder （MDD） and improve individual levels of empathy. The higher the level of empathy， the lower the probability of depressive symptoms. At present， the relationship between social support， empathy and depressive symptoms in MDD patients is unclear.Objective To explore the pathway of empathy in the relationship between social support and depressive symptoms in patients with MDD， so as to provide references for clinical treatment of MDD patients.Methods A total of 126 patients who visited the outpatient clinic of Tianjin Anding hospital from July 2020 to September 2022 and met the diagnostic criteria for Major Depressive Disorder （MDD） according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders， fifth edition （DSM-5） were selected as the study subjects. Hamilton Depression Scale-17 item （HAMD-17）， Interpersonal Reactivity Index （IRI） and Social Support Rating Scale （SSRS） were used for assessment. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to examine the correlations among the scale scores. Path analysis was performed using Model 4 of the Process 3.4.1. Bootstrap method was used to test the path effects.Results Among MDD patients， HAMD-17 total score was positively correlated with IRI total score and its subscales of fantasy and personal distress （r=0.225， 0.213， 0.220， P<0.05）. HAMD-17 total score was negatively correlated with SSRS total score and its subscales of subjective support and support utilization （r=-0.211， -0.181， -0.208， P<0.05）. The score of support utilization subscale of SSRS was positively correlated with IRI total score and its subscale of perspective taking and empathic concern （r=0.257， 0.261， 0.331， P<0.01）. Empathy served as a pathway between support utilization and depressive symptoms， with an indirect effect of 0.217 （95% CI： 0.060~0.426）， and the effect size was 36.90%.Conclusion Empathy may serve as a pathway between support utilization and depressive symptoms in patients with MDD. |
| View Full Text
View/Add Comment Download reader |
| Close |