Table 5.

Social service proposition—inference to best explanation

Criteria	Application
Hill’s aspects of association
Strength	Social services were identified by QUAL but has a weak association with depression at the ecological level. No individual level data available
Consistency	The Social services have not been well studied as protective also intervention studies show some effect
Specificity	No specificity identified
Temporality	No temporality demonstrated in this study
Biological gradient	Limited information available
Plausibility	The association between Social Services and stress is plausible
Coherence	The association is coherent with what is know
Experimental evidence	There is experimental evidence that service intervention can reduce depression
Analogy	There is an analogy between of social service support with social support and practical providing buffering
Thagard’s Principles
Symmetry	There is symmetry between social services buffering stress and social support and practical support preventing depression
Explanation	The social service proposition a) coheres with evidence on depression, b) coheres with other propositions and c) is not a single proposition
Analogy	Social services buffering stress is coherent with social support buffering stress
Data priority	The proposition describes the observation re ecological association
Contradiction	There are no contradictory proposals
Competition	No competitive explanation identified where p and q were not explanatorily connected
Acceptance	The social service proposition is coherent with the overall system of propositions
Thagard’s Criteria
Consilience	Social service proposition explains a limited range of known facts
Simplicity	Social service proposition is not sufficient to protect from depression. Not the most simple explanation
Analogy	Social service buffering stress in mothers is analogous to social support buffering stress and depression