The roles of three social-support indices in predicting depressive symptoms and somatic complaints: A longitudinal investigation among Bedouin Arab and Jewish students in Israel

Sarah Abu-Kaf, Golan Shahar, Beatriz Priel

Research output: Contribution to journalMeeting Abstractpeer-review

Abstract

This study examined the role of different indices of social support (availability, satisfaction, and use of emotional support) in predicting depressive and somatic symptoms among Jewish and Bedouin Arab college students in Israel. Eighty-nine Bedouin Arab and 101 Jewish first-year students participated in the study, which involved two assessment waves. Participants completed five self-report scales(CES-D, PHQ-15, SSQ-6, MOS, and brief COPE) and a demographic questionnaire. At Time 1, Bedouin students exhibited higher levels of depressive and somatic symptoms and lower levels of all three indicators of social sup-port, as compared to Jewish students. Regression analyses of somatic complaints at Time2 indicated a significant role for emotional social support among both populations. However, emotional social support was a significant predictor of depression at Time 2 only among the Bedouins. This study underscores the significance of cross-cultural research of the buffering effect of social support and different idioms of distress.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)317
Number of pages1
JournalInternational Journal of Psychology
Volume51
DOIs
StatePublished - 22 Jul 2016

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