Causality in mental distress

What is the biopsychosocial model

• Proposes that mental distress results from biological and psychosocial (relationships, family, wider society) factors.

• Important to distinguish between circumstantial and social factors, and psychological processes.

What is meant by psychological processes

• the process by which personal meaning is ascribed by events

• supposedly the direct causal factor at the centre of distress 

Kinderman (2005) method 

• Developed a questionnaire- 'the stress test' on BBC website

• Sample – 32,872 respondents

• Age range between 18 – 85 years

• Demographic data compared to national data for England and Wales

• More respondents were White, had slightly higher earnings and were better educated compared to the general population

• Demographics: relationship status, income, education level

Kinderman (2005) factors 

• Biological factors:

  • Direct family health problems

  • Cognitive tests: delayed matching to sample & affective go/no go task

• Social factors:

  • Relationships with friends & family

  • Participation in social activities

• Experience factors:

  • List of Threatening Experiences Questionnaire

  • Historical life events: ppts indicated if they believed they had been physically, sexually, or emotionally abused, or bullied at school.

Kinderman (2005) psychological processes

• Coping style In relation to negative events/emotions

  • Rumination

  • Adaptive/problem solving

  • Dangerous activities

• Attributional style

  • measures the degree to which persons generate internal, personal, or circumstantial causes for events

kinderman (2005) measures

• Mental health- focus on negative emotions and dysfunction

• Well-being- extent to which we can achieve our full potential

Often co-vary but distinct constructs

• Anxiety and depression scales

• BBC subjective well-being scale

• structural equation modelling (SEM)- estimate which underlying constructs exist in the data

kinderman (2005) findings

• Circumstantial factor was the strongest predictor of mental health problems and well-being

• Followed by family history of mental health problems and social status (mental health) and social inclusion (well-being)

• Response style and attribution style significantly mediated these relationships

  • Psychological processes can explain the effect

• The way we process information and perceive the world determines the impact of biological, social and circumstantial factors on mental health and well-being

• Overall, the relationship between life events and mental health problems is relatively weak. But, mediating effects of rumination

• Overall, clear relationship between well-being and social activities. Adaptive coping was a 'protective factor'

What is positive psychology

Focuses on strengths and capabilities rather than dysfunction or illnesses.

Positive psychology interventions

• aim to induce positive feelings, cognitions and behaviours

• For example, interventions promote optimism, gratitude, social connectedness, etc.

• Helps people cope with negative emotions and difficult situations

King (2001) best possible self method

• Asks participants to focus on the best possible version of their future self after everything has gone as well as it possibly could.

• Uses life domains related to well-being

• e.g. romantic life, education, career, physical health, social life

(Emmons & McCullough, 2003) expressing gratitude method

• Asks participants to reflect on feelings of gratitude.

• For example, write (but not send) a letter to another person about times when they were grateful that that other person had done something for them.

Effectiveness of positive psychology interventions

(Carrillo et al., 2019)

• BPS had moderate effects on wellbeing, optimism, and positive affect

• Small effects on negative affect and depressive symptoms

• Might be more effective for “older” participants (mid-thirties) and shorter interventions

Meta-analysis of 18 studies (Davis et al., 2016)

• Gratitude interventions improved psychological wellbeing compared to control conditions, but only small effect.

• But, might work through a placebo effect, i.e. the expectation that positive effects will follow from a psychological task.

• Might not be effective in extreme crises, such as the COVID-19 lockdown (Tornquist et al.,  2023).