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Social identification and depression: A meta‐analysis
Author(s) -
Postmes Tom,
Wichmann Lenka J.,
Valkengoed Anne M.,
Hoef Hanneke
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2508
Subject(s) - psychology , identification (biology) , depression (economics) , meta analysis , social identity theory , clinical psychology , identity (music) , social psychology , developmental psychology , social group , medicine , biology , economics , macroeconomics , botany , physics , acoustics
A meta‐analysis of 76 studies ( N = 31,016) examined the relationship between social identification and depression. Overall, individuals who identify highly with a group tend to report less depression (average r z = −.15). However, a large amount of variability between studies was observed. The 95% prediction interval, which indicates the true effect size that can be expected in future research, ranged from r z = −.50 to .19. The relationship between depression and social identification is more complex than previously assumed. Some variability is related to the social identification measure used. Studies that focused on identification with interactive groups ( r z = −.28) had larger effect sizes than studies that focused on social categories ( r z = −.11). Moreover, studies of non‐stigmatized groups ( r z = −.24) had larger effect sizes than studies of stigmatized groups ( r z = −.10). In conclusion, the structure and social identity content of groups appear to play an important role in the relationship between depression and social identification.