Mangelnde Reziprozität in engen sozialen Beziehungen, Depressivität und eingeschränkte subjektive Gesundheit

Summary

Objectives:Associations of experienced non-reciprocity in close social relationships with health are analyzed in a group of middle-aged employed men and women using depressive symptoms and self-rated health as indicators.

Methods:Non-reciprocity is measured by a newly developed questionnaire containing three scales: “partnership”, “parent-child”, and “non-specific close relationships”. Depressive symptoms are assessed by the German version of the CES-D scale and self-rated health by a single widely tested item. The factorial structure of the questionnaire measuring non-reciprocity is analyzed. Subsequently, associations are explored using logistic regression analyses with age, gender, socio-economic status, and social support as control variables.

Results:The factorial structure of the questionnaire is confirmed. Significantly elevated odds ratios (OR) of depressive symptoms are observed in people who experience non-reciprocity (partnership OR=2.97; parent-child OR=2.70; non-specific OR=1.84). Similarly, the risk of poor self-rated health is significantly elevated in these conditions, except for non-specific non-reciprocity.

Conclusions:Based on the newly developed measurement consistent associations of non-reciprocity in close social relationships with depressive symptoms and poor self-rated health are documented.