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Contents
- Abstract
- Social Identity and Health
- Groups Promote Mental and Physical Health
- Why Do Groups Promote Health?
- Perceived Control and Health
- Perceived Control Promotes Mental and Physical Health
- Social Identity and Perceived Control
- Loss of Personal Control Promotes Group Identification
- The Present Research
- Study 1
- Method
- Participants
- Measures
- Group identification
- Perceived personal control
- Well-being
- Demographic variables
- Results
- Analytic strategy
- Personal control
- Well-being
- Indirect effects
- Discussion
- Study 2
- Method
- Participants
- Measures
- Political group membership
- Political group identification
- Political ideology
- Perceived personal control
- Life satisfaction
- Results
- Preliminary analyses
- Personal control
- Life satisfaction
- Discussion
- Study 3
- Method
- Participants, design, and procedure
- Measures
- Group identification
- Perceived personal control
- Self-esteem
- Life satisfaction
- Depression
- Academic performance
- Results
- Analytic strategy
- Personal control
- Self-esteem
- Depression
- Life satisfaction
- Discussion
- Study 4
- Method
- Participants and design
- Materials and measures
- Identification manipulation
- Personal control
- Self-esteem
- Social support
- Life satisfaction
- Depression
- Manipulation check
- Results
- Manipulation check
- Personal control
- Self-esteem
- Social support
- Life satisfaction
- Depression
- Discussion
- Study 5
- Method
- Participants and design
- Materials and measures
- Identification manipulation
- Control manipulation
- Personal control
- Self-esteem
- Social support
- Life satisfaction
- Depression
- Identification manipulation check
- Control manipulation check
- Results
- Identification manipulation check
- Control manipulation check
- Perceived control
- Self-esteem
- Social support
- Depression
- Life satisfaction
- Indirect effects
- Depression
- Life satisfaction
- Discussion
- Meta-analysis
- Without control variables
- With control variables
- Summary
- General Discussion
- Addressing Alternative Explanations
- Theoretical Implications
- Practical Implications
- Limitations and Directions for Future Research
- Conclusion
Figures and Tables
Abstract
There is growing recognition that identification with social groups can protect and enhance health and well-being, thereby constituting a kind of “social cure.” The present research explores the role of control as a novel mediator of the relationship between shared group identity and well-being. Five studies provide evidence for this process. Group identification predicted significantly greater perceived personal control across 47 countries (Study 1), and in groups that had experienced success and failure (Study 2). The relationship was observed longitudinally (Study 3) and experimentally (Study 4). Manipulated group identification also buffered a loss of personal control (Study 5). Across the studies, perceived personal control mediated social cure effects in political, academic, community, and national groups. The findings reveal that the personal benefits of social groups come not only from their...