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Collectivize Social Support? Elements for Reconsidering the Social Dimension in the Study of Social Support

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2014

Esteban Sánchez Moreno
Esteban Sánchez Moreno*
Affiliation:
Complutense University of Madrid
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Esteban Sánchez Moreno, Departamento de Sociología V, Escuela Universitaria de Trabajo Social. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Campus de Somosaguas. 28223 Madrid (Spain). E-mail: esteban.sanchez@cps.ucm.es
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Abstract

Psychological models of mental disorders play an important role in the explanation of psychological deterioration. Researchers from this area usually study several cognitive and behavioral variables to account for the onset and maintenance of depression. However, many authors have detected the need to include a “social dimension” in the explanation of deterioration. In this sense, social support has become a crucial aspect in the study of mental health, and the psychological literature on this topic has generated an intense debate about several facets of the positive impact of social networks on psychological well-being. In this article, the author defends that this increasing centrality of the concept has been accompanied by a psychological reductionism that is making the role of “social aspects” to explain psychological well-being more problematic. Implications of this reductionism are discussed, and an alternative proposal is made to overcome some theoretical and empirical problems related to social support research.

Los modelos psicológicos explicativos de los trastornos mentales tienen un papel central en la explicación del deterioro psicológico. Los investigadores en el área suelen manejar algunas variables cognitivas y conductuales para dar cuenta de la aparición y persistencia de la depresión. Sin embargo, numerosos autores han detectado la necesidad de incluir una “dimensión social” en la explicación de dicho deterioro. En este sentido, el apoyo social se ha convertido en un aspecto central para el estudio de la salud mental, y la bibliografía psicológica sobre el tema ha generado un intenso debate en torno a diversos aspectos del efecto positivo de las redes sociales en el bienestar psicológico. En el presente artículo el autor defiende que esta creciente centralidad del concepto se ha visto acompañada por un reduccionismo psicológico que está problematizando el papel de ‘lo social’ en las explicaciones del bienestar psicológico. Se comentan las implicaciones de este reduccionismo, al tiempo que se realiza una propuesta alternativa para superar algunos problemas teóricos y empíricos relacionados con la investigación sobre el apoyo social.

Keywords

social supportsocial integrationmental healthapoyo socialintegración socialsalud mental
Type
Articles
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , November 2004 , pp. 124 - 134
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2004

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