Social support and social negativity findings in depression: Perceived responsiveness to basic psychological needs

Social relationships can influence the well-being of depressed individuals, both positively and negatively. However, processes underlying these diverse effects are not clear. Drawing from self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), we propose that the extent to which social relationship partners are perceived to fulfill or undermine basic psychological needs serves to explain both the positive and negative effects that social relationships have on the well-being of depressed individuals. This proposal forms a major tenet of a model that integrates previous models of social support mechanisms, namely, the buffering hypothesis and the main effects hypothesis. This model thus explains both the positive and negative effects that social relationships have on the well-being of depressed individuals. Presentation of this model is followed by a discussion of the possible effects of two characteristics of depressed individuals (i.e., stress generation and negative cognitive style) on their perceptions of relationship partners' responsiveness to basic psychological needs. We conclude with suggestions for future research and possible clinical applications. ► Social relationships affect depressed individuals both positively and negatively. ► Past models of social support do not account for these disparate effects. ► A model derived from self-determination theory could account for these effects. ► This model focuses on perceived partner responsiveness to basic psychological needs.