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Social Support, Economic Hardship and Psychological Distress in Spanish and Portuguese At-Risk Families

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Abstract

Individuals with low socioeconomic status generally have worse mental health outcomes than their wealthier counterparts; a tendency that is exacerbated during financial crises. However, social support might buffer the effects of stress on mental health. In this study, we tested whether social support mitigated the effects of economic hardship on psychological distress on an at-risk sample from two of the European countries most affected by the 2008 economic downturn: Spain and Portugal. Participants were 249 caregivers enrolled in Child Welfare Services (73.0% women). Results showed that economic hardship and a negative indicator of social support (network dysfunctionality) were significant predictors of belonging to the psychological distress clinical group (OR: 2.35 and 1.80, respectively). However, no significant interaction effects were observed, thereby refuting the buffering effect hypothesis. When we conducted an in depth analysis of the clinical group, a significant moderation effect emerged. Our results suggest that, for at-risk populations, the detrimental effects of dysfunctional networks on mental health can outweigh the benefits of positive assistance and that social support is a potential stress buffer only for individuals in the clinical spectrum. These findings indicate that the protective effect of social support during circumstances of intense economic adversity is limited.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT; Grant SFRH/BD/86172/2012) with co-financing of the European Social Fund (POPH/ FSE), the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science (MEC) through national funds.

Author Contributions

L.A.N.: designed and executed the study, analyzed the data, and wrote the paper. L.J.: collaborated with the design, assisted with the data analyses and writing of the study; S.N.: collaborated in the writing and editing of the final manuscript; V.H.: collaborated with the design and writing of the study as well as the editing of the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain

    Lara Ayala-Nunes, Lucía Jiménez & Victoria Hidalgo

  2. Research Centre for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal

    Lara Ayala-Nunes & Saul Jesus

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  1. Lara Ayala-Nunes
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  2. Lucía Jiménez
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  4. Victoria Hidalgo
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Correspondence to Lara Ayala-Nunes.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Ayala-Nunes, L., Jiménez, L., Jesus, S. et al. Social Support, Economic Hardship and Psychological Distress in Spanish and Portuguese At-Risk Families. J Child Fam Stud 27, 176–186 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0863-9

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