Social Comparison and Stress Appraisal in Women with Chronic Illness

Terol Cantero, M. Carmen; Bernabé, Miguel; Martín-Aragón, Maite; Vázquez, Carolina; Buunk, Abraham P.

doi:10.3390/ijerph18105483

Open AccessArticle

Social Comparison and Stress Appraisal in Women with Chronic Illness

by

M. Carmen Terol Cantero

¹

,

Miguel Bernabé

²

,

Maite Martín-Aragón

^1,*

,

Carolina Vázquez

¹

and

Abraham P. Buunk

³

¹

Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health, University Miguel Hernández, 03202 Elche, Spain

²

Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, National University of Distance Education, 28040 Madrid, Spain

³

Honorary Academy Professor Evolutionary Social Psychology, University of Groningen, 9700 Groningen, The Netherlands

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(10), 5483; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105483

Submission received: 9 March 2021 / Revised: 14 May 2021 / Accepted: 17 May 2021 / Published: 20 May 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Stress Exposure on Mental Health and Well-Being)

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Abstract

(1) Background: The present study examined how social comparison orientation, stress appraisal and different social comparison strategies interact in women facing chronic illness. (2) Methods: Assessments were conducted by a trained professional in face-to face semistructured interviews (n = 179 women with chronic illness). Main outcome measures included social comparison scales and a stress appraisal questionnaire. The mediation model, by a bootstrapping procedure, was used to analyze the interaction among variables. (3) Results: Regarding the relationships among variables studied, they were related to each other except for a downward contrast, which allowed us to propose our hypothetical mediation model. Results showed that stress appraisal fully mediates between social comparison orientation and social comparison strategies except for the upward identification strategy. (4) Conclusions: Our results suggest that uncertainty, feelings of threat and low control over one’s illness or, in general, stress appraisal, had an important mediating effects over social comparison processes in patients with chronic illnesses. Therefore, by understanding the stress appraisal process, and the variables that might modify it, we could improve the use of social comparison as a favorable coping strategy.

Keywords: social comparison; stress; women; chronic illness

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MDPI and ACS Style

Terol Cantero, M.C.; Bernabé, M.; Martín-Aragón, M.; Vázquez, C.; Buunk, A.P. Social Comparison and Stress Appraisal in Women with Chronic Illness. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 5483. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105483

AMA Style

Terol Cantero MC, Bernabé M, Martín-Aragón M, Vázquez C, Buunk AP. Social Comparison and Stress Appraisal in Women with Chronic Illness. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(10):5483. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105483

Chicago/Turabian Style

Terol Cantero, M. Carmen, Miguel Bernabé, Maite Martín-Aragón, Carolina Vázquez, and Abraham P. Buunk. 2021. "Social Comparison and Stress Appraisal in Women with Chronic Illness" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 10: 5483. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105483

APA Style

Terol Cantero, M. C., Bernabé, M., Martín-Aragón, M., Vázquez, C., & Buunk, A. P. (2021). Social Comparison and Stress Appraisal in Women with Chronic Illness. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(10), 5483. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105483

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Social Comparison and Stress Appraisal in Women with Chronic Illness

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