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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2009 Mar 1;100(2):148–152. [Article in French] doi: 10.1007/BF03405526

Les relations entre le soutien social, le bien-être et la détresse psychologique chez les hommes et les femmes avec un trouble anxieux: résultats d’une enquête nationale

Edith St-Jean-Trudel 119,219,✉, Stéphane Guay 119,219, André Marchand 119,219
PMCID: PMC6974214  PMID: 19839294

Abstract

Objective

Investigate the links between different types of social support, psychological well-being and distress among individuals with anxiety disorders.

Methods

Data were drawn from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS cycle 1.2) which had 36,984 participants, 1,803 of whom presented with anxiety disorders. Classical linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the links between different social support dimensions and psychological well-being on one hand, and psychological distress on the other hand.

Results

Women reported perceiving significantly higher levels of affective, emotional/informational, tangible support and positive social interactions than men. After controlling for potentially confounding variables (socio-demographic variables and the presence of a major depressive disorder), three types of social supports appeared to be predictors for the psychological well-being of women with anxiety disorders: positive social interactions, emotional/informational support, and affective support. For men, none of the social support variables were significantly associated with psychological well-being or distress. The comparisons of Beta coefficients do not show any significant difference between the sexes.

Conclusion

Social support appears to be a positive predictor for psychological well-being among women with an anxiety disorder. No associations were found between social support variables and the psychological distress perceived by men and women. The results of this study therefore confirm the importance of teaching appropriate support strategies adapted for anxiety disorders. Future studies should assess negative social interactions in addition to social support.

Key words: Anxiety disorders, social support, psychological well-being, psychological distress

Footnotes

Remerciements: Nous tenons à remercier Statistique Canada et le Centre interuniversitaire de statistiques sociales pour son soutien financier et technique. La réalisation de cette étude a également été rendue possible grâce à une bourse d’étude du Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la société et la culture.

Nous tenons également à remercier M. Richard Boyer, Ph.D., chercheur au Centre de recherche Fernand-Seguin de l’Hôpital Louis-H. Lafontaine, pour avoir contribué à la révision de l’article et pour la qualité et la pertinence des commentaires émis.

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