Social Psychology of Mental Health: The Social Structure and Personality Perspective

What is it about?

Previous research has revealed a persistent association between social structure and mentalhealth. However, most researchers have focused only on the psychological and psychosocialaspects of that relationship. The present paper indicates the need to include the socialand structural bases of distress in our theoretical models. Starting from a general socialand psychological model, our research considered the role of several social, environmental,and structural variables (social position, social stressors, and social integration),psychological factors (self-esteem), and psychosocial variables (perceived social support).The theoretical model was tested working with a group of Spanish participants (N= 401)that covered a range of social positions. The results obtained using structural equationmodeling support our model, showing the relevant role played by psychosocial,psychological and social, and structural factors. Implications for theory and interventionare discussed.Keywords: mental health, social structure, social support, self-esteem, social integratio

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