The Social Identity Approach to Mental Health – Evidence for some Boundary Conditions

Venue: Online Talk offered through Zoom Platform

Time: 10.00 - 12.00

 

Scientific coordinator: Lorenzo Avanzi

 

In this talk, I will give an introduction to the social identity approach to health, which describes the beneficial effects of being a part of groups for health and well-being. Feeling a sense to belong undoubtedly serves as a “social cure” in many situations. But is that always so? Building on findings from a recent meta-analysis investigating the link between social identification and health, and the fact that numerous primary studies in this analysis could not find the proposed associations, I build the case for two relevant boundary conditions: other team members’ identification and group norms. In doing so, I present a theoretical model which aims at advancing the social identity approach to health by differentiating between those mechanisms that develop within the individual and those that develop between individuals. Next, I provide initial evidence for the relevance of considering other team members’ identification and the group’s norms when investigating this link.