Social Support and Psychiatric Disorder
Research Findings and Guidelines for Clinical Practice

A critical evaluation of research into the impact of social support on mental health with implications for mental health management and intervention.

T. S. Brugha (Edited by)

9780521038058, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 26 July 2007

364 pages, 11 b/w illus. 24 tables
22.8 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.543 kg

"This valuable and well-designed book focuses on an issue of central importance for clinicians-the impact of social support on mental disorder....This is a book that makes accessible to clinicians and mental health administrators some of the advances in social psychiatry..." Richard Warner, M.B., D.P.M., Psychiatric Services

This second volume, in a series looking at the social dimensions of mental illness, collates and critically examines the information currently available on social support as it impacts on mental health. The international team of contributors, each actively involved in both clinical and research work in this field, collectively covers the whole range of perspectives from biological mechanisms through to psychological and social theory. An overview of the latest published evidence and a description of the nature and origins of social support are followed by evidence from observational studies and specific interventions and trials. The text concludes with a summary which will act as a valuable resource for practitioners in their evaluation of social and psychological treatments, and should also serve to stimulate further research and intervention trials. Practitioners and researchers in psychiatry, psychology and social work are certain to welcome this timely guide.

Preface
List of contributors
1. Social support and psychiatric disorder: overview of evidence Traolach S. Brugha
Part 1. Concepts and Origins of Social Support: 2. Understanding social support within the context of theory and research on the relationship of life stress and mental health Camille Lloyd
3. A developmental perspective on social support networks Lorna Champion
4. Cognitive aspects of social support processes Chris R. Brewin
5. Attachment, co-operation and rank: the evolution of the need for status and social support Paul Gilbert
Part II. Lessons from Selected Observational Studies: 6. Social support as a high-risk condition for depression in women Hans O. F. Veiel
7. The importance of context: who needs and who does not need social support among college students? Patrick McC. Miller
8. Teenage peer networks in the community as sources of social problems: a sociological perspective Deirdre Kirke
Part III. Lessons from Intervention Studies: 9. Social network and mental health: an intervention study Odd Steffen Dalgard, Trine Anstorp, Kirsten Benum and Tom Sørensen
10. A test of the social support hypothesis Bryanne Barnett and Gordon Parker
11. Case management and network enhancement of the long-term mentally ill Graham Thornicroft, William R. Breakey and Annelle B. Primm
12. Expressed emotion: measurement, intervention and training issues Liz Kuipers
Part IV. Intervention Principles and Recommendation: 13. Social support processes and cognitive therapy Glenys Parry
14. Social support and psychiatric disorder: recommendations for clinical practice and research Traolach S. Brugha
Index.

Subject Areas: Psychiatry [MMH]