Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38030405›Full record

ArticleBMJ mental health2023

Understanding the protective effect of social support on depression symptomatology from a longitudinal network perspective.

Gen Li, Yifan Li, Agnes Iok Fong Lam, Weiming Tang, Soraya Seedat, Corrado Barbui, Davide Papola, Catherine Panter-Brick, Judith van der Waerden, Richard Bryant and 19 more

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ mental health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
43citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
14.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

43 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.

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  19. Interpersonal Determinants of Suicide Risk Among Young Adults: A Cross-Cultural Study.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

29 authors at 17 institutions in 15 countries.

Gen LiCenter for Global Health Equity, New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China.ORCID 0000-0002-9625-208X
Yifan LiCenter for Global Health Equity, New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Agnes Iok Fong LamCentre for Macau Studies, University of Macau, Macau, China.
Weiming TangCenter for Global Health Equity, New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Soraya SeedatSAMRC Genomics of Brain Disorders Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
Corrado BarbuiDepartment of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement, University of Verona, Verona, UK.
Davide PapolaWHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health and Service Evaluation, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-6482-8593
Catherine Panter-BrickDepartment of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Judith van der WaerdenInstitut Pierre Louis d'Épidémiologie et de Santé Publique (iPLesp), Sorbonne Université and INSERM, Paris, Île-de- France, France.
Richard BryantSchool of Psychology, UNSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-9607-819X
Ellenor Mittendorfer-RutzDivision of Insurance Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Katalin GémesDivision of Insurance Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Fredrick D PurbaFaculty of Psychology, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia.
Hari SetyowibowoFaculty of Psychology, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia.
Irene PinucciDepartment of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Christina PalantzaDepartment of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Ceren AcarturkDepartment of Psychology, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Gülşah KurtSchool of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Lorenzo TarsitaniDepartment of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Naser MorinaDepartment of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-6470-4408
Sebastian BurchertDepartment of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Martina PatanèDepartment of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, and WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Dissemination of Psychological Interventions, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Soledad QueroDepartment of Basic, Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume I, Castello de la Plana, Castellón, Spain.
Daniel CamposDepartment of Psychology and Sociology, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
Anja C HuizinkDepartment of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, and WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Dissemination of Psychological Interventions, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Daniela C FuhrDepartment of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Tobias SpillerDepartment of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Marit SijbrandijDepartment of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, and WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Dissemination of Psychological Interventions, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Brian J HallCenter for Global Health Equity, New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China bjh9622@nyu.edu.
New York University Shanghai · CNSapienza University of Rome · ITVrije Universiteit Amsterdam · NLKarolinska Institutet · SEPadjadjaran University · IDUNSW Sydney · AUYale University · USFreie Universität Berlin · DEInserm · FRKoç University · TRLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · GBSouth African Medical Research Council · ZAUniversidad de Zaragoza · ESUniversitat Jaume I · ESUniversity Hospital of Zurich · CHUniversity of Macau · MOUniversity of Verona · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHigher social support protects people from developing mental disorders. Limited evidence is available on the mechanism through which social support plays this protective role.

objectiveTo investigate the stress-buffering process of social support on depressive symptoms using a novel longitudinal dynamic symptom network approach.

methodsA total of 4242 adult participants who completed the first two waves (from May to October 2020) of the International Covid Mental Health Survey were included in the study. Cross-lagged panel network modelling was used to estimate a longitudinal network of self-reported social support, loneliness and depressive symptoms. Standardised regression coefficients from regularised cross-lagged regressions were estimated as edge weights of the network.

findingsThe results support a unidirectional protective effect of social support on key depressive symptoms, partly mediated through loneliness: A higher

conclusionsReductions in negative self-appraisal might function as a bridge between social support and other depressive symptoms, and, thus, it may have amplified the protective effect of social support. Men appear to benefit more from social support than women. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Building community-based support networks to deliver practical support, and loneliness reduction components are critical for depression prevention interventions after stressful experiences.

Indexed as

DepressionMental DisordersAdultFemaleHumansLonelinessMaleSocial NetworkingSocial Supportadult psychiatryCOVID-19depression & mood disorders

Identifiers

PMID38030405
PMCPMC10689368
OpenAlexW4389154382

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.