36
Views
0
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Articles

Social Comparisons of Psychological Distress by Boarding House Residents: Self-Evaluations of Mental Health and Healthcare Need

Pages 94-124 | Published online: 19 Jul 2013

References

  • Anderson, P., Hume, A., Rogers, N., & Stephenson, T. (2003 ). ‘It’s no palace ’Boarding houses: The sector, its clientelle and its future. Adelaide, Australia: Department of Human Services, Adelaide City Council. Retrieved from http://www.sapo.org.au/binary/binary2341/It.pdf
  • Andrews, G., & Slade, T. (2001). Interpreting scores on the Kessler psychological distress scale (K10). Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 25, 494–497.
  • Aoun, S., Pennebaker, D., & Wood, C. (2004). Assessing population need for mental health care: a review of approaches and predictors. Mental Health Services Research, 6, 33–46.
  • Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2006). National Health Survey 2004–05: Summary of results. (Cat. no. 4364.0). Canberra: Author.
  • Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2008). National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of results, 2007. (Cat. no. 4326.0). Canberra: Author.
  • Barney, L. J., Griffiths, K. M., Jorm, A. F., & Christensen, H. (2006). Stigma about depression and its impact on help-seeking intentions. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 51–54.
  • Bayer, J. K., & Peay, M. Y. (1997). Predicting intentions to seek help from professional mental health services. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 31, 504–513.
  • Bristow, K., & Patten, S. (2002). Treatment-seeking rates and associated mediating factors among individuals with depression. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 47, 660–665.
  • Burdekin, B., Guilfoyle, M., Hall, D., & Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. (1993). Human rights and mental illness: Report of the National Inquiry into the Human Rights of People with Mental Illness. (Cat no. 9309914). Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.
  • Calsyn, R. J., Allen, G., Morse, G. A., Smith, R., & Tempelhoff, B. (1993). Can you trust self-report data provided by homeless mentally ill individuals? Evaluation Review, 17, 353–366.
  • Calsyn, R. J., Morse, G. A., Klinkenberg, W. D., & Trusty, M. L. (1997). Reliability and validity of self-report data of homeless mentally ill individuals. Evaluation and Program Planning, 20, 47–54.
  • Chamberlain, C., & Johnson, G. (2001). The debate about homelessness. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 36, 35–50.
  • Chamberlain, C., & MacKenzie, D. (2008). Australian Census Analytic Program: Counting the homeless, 2006. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cat. no. 2050.0.
  • Cheng, S. T., Fung, H., & Chan, A. (2007). Maintaining self-rated health through social comparison in old age. Journal of Gerontology, 62B, 277–285.
  • Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression. (2010). Outcome measures suitable for patients with mental disorders seen in general practice. Retrieved May 5, 2010, from http://www.gpcare.org/outcome%20measures/outcomemeasures.html
  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
  • Cunningham, J., Sibthorpe, B., & Anderson, I. (1994). Self-assessed health status, Indigenous Australians. (cat. no. 4707.0). Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.
  • Elhai, J. D., Voorhees, S., Ford, J. D., Min, K. S., & Frueh, B. C. (2009). Sociodemographic, perceived and objective need indicators of mental health treatment use and treatment-seeking intentions among primary care medical patients. Psychiatry Research, 165, 145–153.
  • Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human relations, 7, 117–140.
  • Furukawa, T. A., Kessler, R. C., Slade, T., & Andrews, G. (2003). The performance of the K6 and K10 screening scales for psychological distress in the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being. Psychological Medicine, 33, 357–362.
  • Goethals, G. R. (1986a ). Fabricating and ignoring social reality: Self-serving estimates of consensus. In J. M. Olson, C. P. Herman & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), Relative deprivation and social comparison: The Ontario symposium (Vol. 4, pp. 135–158). Retrieved from http://books.google.com.au/bkshp?hl=en&tab=wp
  • Goethals, G. R. (1986b). Social comparison theory: Psychology from the lost and found. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 12, 261–278.
  • Groom, G., Hickie, I., & Davenport, T. (2003 ). ‘Out of hospital. Out of mind!’ A report detailing mental health services in Australia in 2002 and community priorities for national mental health policy for 2003–2008. Retrieved from the Mental Health Council of Australia website: http://www.mhca.org.au/Publications/documents/OutofHospitalOutofMindReport.pdf
  • Gruder, C. L. (1977). Choice of comparison persons in evaluating oneself. In J. M. Suls & R. L. Miller (Eds.), Social comparison processes: Theoretical and empirical perspectives (pp. 21–41). Washington, DC: Hemisphere.
  • Hakmiller, K. L. (1966). Threat as a determinant of downward comparison. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1, 32–39.
  • Heckhausen, J., & Brim, O. G. (1997). Perceived problems for self and others: Self-protection by social downgrading throughout adulthood. Psychology and Aging, 2, 610–619.
  • Hides, L., Lubman, D. I., Devlin, H., Cotton, S., Aitken, C., Gibbie, T., & Hellard, M. (2007). Reliability and validity of the Kessler 10 and Patient Health Questionnaire among injecting drug users. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 41, 166–168.
  • Johnson, G., Gronda, H., & Coutts, S. (2008). On the outside: Pathways in and out of homelessness. North Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing.
  • Jorm, A. F., Barney, L. J., Christensen, H., Highet, N. J., Kelly, C. M., & Kitchener, B. A. (2006a). Research on mental health literacy: What we know and what we still need to know. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 3–5.
  • Jorm, A. F., Christensen, H., & Griffiths, K. M. (2006b). The public’s ability to recognize mental disorders and their beliefs about treatment: changes in Australia over 8 years. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 36–41. Retrieved from http://informahealthcare.com/journal/anp
  • Kessler, R. C., Barker, P. R., Colpe, L. J., Epstein, J. F., Gfroerer, J. C., Hiripi, E., Howes, M. J., Normand, S. L., Manderscheid, R. W., & Walters, E. E. (2003). Screening for serious mental illness in the general population. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60, 184–189.
  • Major, B., Testa, M., & Bylsma, W. H. (1991). Responses to upward and downward social comparisons: The impact of esteem-relevance and perceived control. In J. Suls & T. A. Wills (Eds.), Social comparison: Contemporary theory and research (pp. 237–260). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence-Erlbaum Associates.
  • Manning, W. G., & Wells, K. B. (1992). The effects of psychological distress and psychological well-being on use of medical services. Medical Care, 30, 541–553.
  • Meadows, G., Fossey, E., Harvey, C., & Burgess, P. (2000). The assessment of perceived need. In G. Andrews & S. Henderson (Eds.), Unmet need in psychiatry: Problems, resources, responses (pp. 390–398). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Michinov, N., & Monteil, J. M. (1997). Upward or downward comparison after failure: The role of diagnostic information. Social Behavior and Personality, 25, 389–398.
  • Mojtabai, R. (2008). Social comparison of distress and mental health help-seeking in the US general population. Social Science & Medicine, 67, 1944–1950.
  • Mojtabai, R., Olfson, M., & Mechanic, D. (2002). Perceived need and help-seeking in adults with mood, anxiety, or substance use disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 59, 77.
  • Moore, G., Gerdtz, M., & Manias, E. (2007). Homelessness, health status and emergency department use: An integrated review of the literature. Australasian Emergency Nursing Journal, 10, 178–185.
  • New South Wales Health Department. (2001 ). NSW mental health outcomes and assessment training (MH-OAT) facilitator ’s manual. Retrieved from http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/pubs/2001/pdf/facilitator_manual.pdf
  • Newtown Neighbourhood Centre. (2003 ). Opening these doors: Boarders and lodgers project report into the conditions and residents of unlicensed boarding houses in the Marrickville LGA. Retrieved from http://www.newtowncentre.org/_pdfs/opening_these_doors.pdf
  • Osborne, R. E. (2002). ‘I may be homeless, but I’m not helpless’: The costs and benefits of identifying with homelessness. Self and Identity, 1, 43–52.
  • Osborne, R. E., Karlin, J. E., Baumann, D., Osborne, M., & Nelms, D. (1993). A social comparison perspective of treatment seeking by the homeless. Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, 2, 135–153.
  • Rickwood, D. J., & Braithwaite, V. A. (1994). Social-psychological factors affecting help-seeking for emotional problems. Social Science & Medicine, 39, 563–572.
  • Robinson-Whelen, S., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. (1997). The importance of social versus temporal comparison appraisals among older adults. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27, 959–966.
  • Sargent-Cox, K. A., Anstey, K. J., & Luszcz, M. A. (2008). Determinants of self-rated health items with different points of reference: Implications for health measurement of older adults. Journal of Aging and Health, 20, 739–761.
  • Shanks, N. (1981). Consistency of data collected from inmates of a common lodging house. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 35, 133–135.
  • Suls, J., Marco, C. A., & Tobin, S. (1991). The role of temporal comparison, social comparison, and direct appraisal in the elderly’s self-evaluations of health. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 21, 1125–1144.
  • Suls, J., Martin, R., & Leventhal, H. (1997). Social comparison, lay referral, and the decision to seek medical care. In B. P. Buunk & F. X. Gibbons (Eds.), Health, coping, and well-being: Perspectives from social comparison theory (pp. 195–226). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Susser, E., Conover, S., & Struening, E. L. (1989). Problems of epidemiologic method in assessing the type and extent of mental illness among homeless adults. Hospital & Community Psychiatry, 40, 261–265.
  • Swallow, S. R., & Kuiper, N. A. (1988). Social comparison and negative self-evaluations: An application to depression. Clinical Psychology Review, 8, 55–76.
  • Taylor, K. M., & Sharpe, L. (2008). Trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder among homeless adults in Sydney. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 42, 206–213.
  • Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D. (1994). Positive illusions and well-being revisited: Separating fact from fiction. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 21–27.
  • Taylor, S. E., & Lobel, M. (1989). Social comparison activity under threat: Downward evaluation and upward contacts. Psychological Review, 96, 569–575.
  • Taylor, S. E., Wood, J. V., & Lichtman, R. R. (1983). It could be worse: Selective evaluation as a response to victimization. Journal of Social Issues, 39, 19–40.
  • Teesson, M., Hodder, T., & Buhrich, N. (2004). Psychiatric disorders in homeless men and women in inner Sydney. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 38, 162–168.
  • Toro, P. A., Wolfe, S. M., Bellavia, C. W., Thomas, D. M., Rowland, L. L., Daeschler, C. V., & McCaskill, P. A. (1999). Obtaining representative samples of homeless persons: A two-city study. Journal ofCommunity Psychology, 27, 157–177.
  • Van der Zee, K. I., Buunk, B. P., De Ruiter, J. H., Tempelaar, R., Van Sonderen, E., & Sanderman, R. (1996). Social comparison and the subjective well-being of cancer patients. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 18, 453–468.
  • Wheeler, L., & Miyake, K. (1992). Social comparison in everyday life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 760–773.
  • Wills, T. A. (1981). Downward comparison principles in social psychology. Psychological Bulletin, 90, 245–271.
  • Wills, T. A. (1997). Modes and families of coping: An analysis of downward comparison in the structure of other cognitive and behavioral mechanisms. In B. P. Buunk & F. X. Gibbons (Eds.), Health, coping, and well-being: Perspectives from social comparison theory (pp. 167–193). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Wills, T. A., & Gibbons, F. X. (2009). Commentary: Using psychological theory in help-seeking research. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 16, 440–444.
  • Wilson, C. J., & Deane, F. P. (in press). Brief report: Need for autonomy and other perceived barriers relating to adolescents’ intentions to seek professional mental health care. Journal of Adolescence. Retrieved from doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.06.011
  • Wiseman, V. (1999). Culture, Self-Rated Health and Resource Allocation Decision-Making. Health Care Analysis, 7, 207–223.
  • Wolff, L. S., Subramanian, S. V., Acevedo-Garcia, D., Weber, D., & Kawachi, I. (2010). Compared to whom? Subjective social status, self-rated health, and referent group sensitivity in a diverse US sample. Social Science & Medicine, 70, 2019 –2028.
  • Wong, Y. L. (1999). Utilization of community-based services among homeless persons: An application of a theoretical model. Journal of Community Psychology, 27, 327–345.
  • Wood, J. V. (1996). What is social comparison and how should we study it? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 520–537.
  • Wood, J. V., Taylor, S. E., & Lichtman, R. R. (1985). Social comparison in adjustment to breast cancer. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 49, 1169–1183

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.