Is General or Alcohol-Specific Perceived Social Support Associated with Depression among Adults in Substance Use Treatment?

ABSTRACT

Alcohol use disorders are among the most common mental health disorders in the world and incur considerable costs for individuals and society. Previous research has demonstrated that perceived social support (PSS) may decrease rates of depression and relapse in individuals seeking treatment for alcohol use. The current study developed and investigated a self-report measure for perceived social support for sobriety from alcohol (PSSA) in a sample of men and women in residential treatment for substance use (N = 231), and examined the relationship between general or alcohol-specific perceived social support and depression. Analyses demonstrated sound factor structure, reliability, and validity for the PSSA. Additionally, the new measure of PSS for alcohol sobriety was negatively and uniquely associated with depression, even after controlling for general PSS, enacted social support, and negative social interactions. Overall, findings demonstrated that the PSSA was associated with fewer depressive symptoms, even after accounting for other known correlates of depression. Future research should replicate and extend these findings and examine whether this new measure predicts abstinence from alcohol following treatment.

KEYWORDS:

• Alcohol
• depression
• factor analysis
• social support

Acknowledgments

This work was supported, in part, by grant K24AA019707 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) awarded to the last author. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIAAA or the National Institutes of Health.

Conflict of interest

Drs. Shorey and Stuart receive consulting compensation from Cornerstone of Recovery.

Notes

^1. The EFA was re-run deleting item 1 and item 23 and the same two-factor solution was produced (Factor 1: 16-items; Factor 2: 5-items), with a factor correlation of r = .52. This new two-factor solution accounted for 57.44% of the variance.

^2. The alpha coefficient for the total scale retaining all 25 items (including items deleted after EFA: items 2 and 25) was .94. When deleting item 1 and 23 from the entire scale, the alpha coefficient is .94.

^3. These analyses were repeated controlling for gender and age, as prior research has demonstrated relations between gender and age and depression. Results did not change when controlling for gender and age, and both gender and age were unrelated to depression.