Introduction and Aim

1. In-group Identification Mediates the Effects of Subjective In-group Status on Mental Health Fabio Sani a, Marina Elena Magrin b, Maria Scrignaro b, & Rachel McCollum a a School of Psychology, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK. Published in: British Journal of Social Psychology, 2010. b Department of Psychology, University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy. Study 2- The Family To show that Study 1’s findings are not only applicable to prison guards, we replicated the study using the family group. 113 participants (37 males, 75 females) were recruited from public spaces in Dundee (Scotland) and completed a questionnaire about their identity as members of their family. We measured their subjective in-group status and in-group identification. We also measured how depressed they were, how stressed they were, and assessed their satisfaction with life. Results Subjective in-group status correlated with group identification, as well as with depression, stress satisfaction with life. Higher subjective in-group status led to higher in-group identification, lower depression, lower stress and higher satisfaction with life. Mediation analyses showed that subjective in-group status led to higher levels of in-group identification, which in turn led to better mental health (measured via depression, stress and satisfaction with life). Introduction and Aim Higher subjective social status (our perceived position in society relative to other people) has been linked to better mental health. Subjective social status is usually measured with regards to the individual self (i.e., a person’s status within society as an individual). However, as well as being individuals, we are also all members of multiple social groups (a family, a community, a team, etc.). This means that as well as comparing ourselves with other individuals in society (our subjective social status), we also compare our in-group with other groups (our subjective in-group status). We wish to investigate the implications of subjective in-group status for in-group members’ mental health. Additionally, we wish to investigate how subjective in-group status might affect mental health. We predict that high subjective in-group status would lead in-group members to identify highly with their group, which in turn would lead to positive mental health outcomes. Group identification describes our subjective sense of belonging to the group and of commonality with other in-group members. Research has shown that strong group identification promotes a sense of stability and perceived social support. Such outcomes are likely to be beneficial for mental health. Study 1- Prison Guards 93 prison guards at the Bollate Prison in Milan (77 males, 15 females) completed a questionnaire about their identity as prison guards. We measured their subjective in-group status and in-group identification. We also measured their psychiatric disturbance (including anxiety and depression), how stressed they were, and assessed their job satisfaction. Results Subjective in-group status correlated with group identification, as well as with psychiatric disturbance, stress and job satisfaction. Higher subjective in-group status led to higher in-group identification, lower psychiatric disturbance, lower stress and higher job satisfaction. Mediation analyses showed that subjective in-group status led to higher levels of in-group identification, which in turn led to better mental health (measured via psychiatric disturbance, stress and job satisfaction). Discussion Across two types of social group (one large, one small) we found that subjective in-group status has a positive effect on mental health. Moreover, both studies showed that subjective in-group status leads to higher in-group identification, which in turn leads to better mental health. These finding are important because they extend our understandings of the implications of in-group identification for people’s well-being and mental health. To date, researchers have focused on in-group identification mainly as a predictor of health outcomes. Our studies not only confirm that in-group identification is an important predictor of several dimensions of mental health and well-being, it also shows that in-group identification explains how the perceived status of an in-group affects well-being and mental health. For More Information: Email Prof. Fabio Sani: f.sani@dundee.ac.uk