Chronic Social Stress in the Community and Associations with Psychological Distress: A Social Psychological Perspective

Abstract

Chronic social stress is strongly related to psychological distress in vulnerable groups such as the frail elderly and ill people. Little, however, is known about these phenomena in the general population. The validity and reliability of a new brief measure, the Bergen Social Relationships Scale (BSRS), were investigated in a Norwegian county; the prevalence of chronic social stress was measured using the BSRS, and the associations of chronic social stress and social support with three measures of psychological distress were investigated. Respondents with high BSRS scores had experienced longstanding, important interpersonal relationship problems rather than fleeting stressful incidents. Women reported higher levels of chronic social stress, 60% reporting positively on at least one of the six BSRS items, compared with 50% among men. Social support was negatively and significantly associated with various measures of psychological distress. Chronic social stress was positively and significantly associated with psychological distress. These effects were independent of one another. No buffering effect of social support on social stress was observed. The present data support the importance of positive social ties to health, but suggest that social stress is an independent aspect of social environment with regard to health. If social support and social stress have direct and independent effects on mental health, as the present results indicate, intervention on the one will not necessarily modify the other. Intervention programmes may need to consider explicitly both the lighter and the darker sides of social relationships in building environments that support mental health.