Social anxiety, behavioural activation and depression risk in older men

Protection through Men’s Shed membership

Datos Bibliográficos

ID22945752
AutoresJames J Clarke (0000-0003-3438-7461, Curtin University, autor de correspondencia), Rebecca Talbot (0000-0002-3020-7585, Men’s Sheds of Western Australia , Perth, Western Australia , Australia), Kirsten Holmes (0000-0001-9838-7538, Curtin University), James Wild (Men’s Sheds of Western Australia , Perth, Western Australia , Australia), Jaxon Ashley (Men’s Sheds of Western Australia , Perth, Western Australia , Australia), Peter M Mcevoy (0000-0003-2924-6760, Curtin University)
Año2023
Volumen38
Número6
Fecha de publicación2023-12-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaHealth Promotion International (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0957-4824 • E-ISSN: 1460-2245
EditorialOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/heapro/daad180
PMID38150221
OpenAlexW4390264801
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas44

Reducing rates of depressive symptoms in older adults is a public health priority. Men’s Sheds are a community organisation that may protect against depressive symptoms in older men. It is currently unclear how social anxiety and behavioural activation may relate to depressive symptoms for Men’s Shed members. We employed a cross-sectional design to explore whether the relationships between social anxiety, behavioural activation and depressive symptoms were contingent upon Shed social network quality in a sample of 164 Men’s Shed members. Conditional effects analysis found social anxiety (B = -0.08, p < 0.01) and behavioural activation’s (B = 0.02, p < 0.001) relationships with depression to be contingent on Shed social network quality. Additionally, we found evidence for a conditional effect of social anxiety on the relationship between behavioural activation and depression (B = −0.03, p < 0.01) such that this relationship was stronger for those with higher levels of social anxiety. Our findings suggest that a strong social network within a Men’s Shed weakens the association between social anxiety and depression, that the relationship between behavioural activation and depression is stronger in those with poorer Shed social networks, and that the relationship between behavioural activation and depression may be stronger for those with higher levels of social anxiety. We suggest that our findings contribute to increasing quantitative support for the mental health benefits of Men’s Shed membership, highlight the potential importance of Shed social network quality and explore how social anxiety may affect the mental health outcomes for members.

Affect (linguistics) · Anxiety · Association (psychology) · Depression (economics) · Mental health · Psychiatry · Psychotherapist · Social anxiety · Social inhibition · Social support · Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes · Clinical Psychology · Digital Mental Health Interventions · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Psychology · Social Psychology