Reported nonreciprocity of social exchange and depressive symptoms

Abstract

Objective: To study associations of stressful experience in close social relationships with depressive symptoms a measure of nonreciprocal social exchange in marital, parental and less specific civic roles was developed. This measure aims at extending the model of effort–reward imbalance beyond work. Methods: Data from two national surveys in Germany (n=682) and the United States (n=608) were collected, using probability samples of persons 60 years or older. Reported nonreciprocity was measured by a Likert scale. Psychometric properties are described. Depressive symptoms were measured by the CES-D Scale and relevant covariates were assessed. Results: Logistic regression analysis indicates that the risk of depressive symptoms was about twice as high in elderly men and women reporting nonreciprocity of social exchange compared to nonstressed subjects. Conclusion: Findings provide preliminary evidence of usefulness of a measure that extends the notion of nonreciprocal social exchange beyond working life.

Introduction

Social reciprocity must be considered a universal element of interpersonal exchange rooted in human evolution [1], [2]. It is commonly defined as a propensity among at least two cooperative partners, A and B, to respond to costs spent by A in favour of B by costs spent by B in favour of A. The notion of reciprocity does not necessarily mean a full equivalence of exchange, but it implies an underlying motivation to cooperate, whether based on altruistic or selfish interests. For instance, genetical kinship theory [3] posits that altruistic cooperation is frequent among genetically close individuals because it contributes to the likelihood of perpetuating one's genes through the survival of next generations. Similarly, Trivers [4] has claimed that natural selection favours a reciprocally cooperative behaviour among nonkin individuals under conditions when the chances to interact repeatedly with the same individual in the future are reasonably high. In sociological terms, the norm of reciprocity is instrumental in enforcing social contracts [5] and in enhancing cooperation in the absence of direct control [2].

Given the far reaching significance of reciprocity in societal life, one can assume that violation of this norm elicits strong negative emotions of anger and frustration among those concerned, resulting in a sense of being treated unfairly and in an unjust way. If experienced recurrently nonreciprocity in social exchange may have a profound impact on human well-being and health.

The imbalance between effort spent (“high cost”) and rewards received (“low gain”) in a core social contract in adult life, the labour contract, defines one such condition of recurrent nonreciprocity in social exchange [6]. This imbalance is not uncommon in modern working life, in particular among people who have no alternative choice in the labour market, e.g., due to a low level of skill or reduced mobility [7].

In several prospective and cross-sectional investigations, an increased risk of illness was documented in adult working populations exposed to nonreciprocal exchange in terms of an imbalance between high effort spent and low reward received at work. This association was reported for coronary heart disease and major cardiovascular risk factors (for review, see [8], [9]), for depression [10], [11], alcohol dependence [12], psychosomatic symptoms [13] and poor self-rated health [14]. Associations of effort–reward imbalance at work with depressive symptoms are of special interest as some of the leading symptoms of this disorder (e.g., loss of energy and motivation, feelings of helplessness and a sense of reward deficiency) may result from exposure to effort–reward imbalance.

The notion of “high cost/low gain” conditions operating in social contracts is not confined to the working life. It may be experienced in a similar way in other types of cooperative social relationships, such as the marital and parental relationships or in cooperative engagements in civic life. This paper examines the hypothesis that reported nonreciprocity in terms of effort spent and rewards received in significant social relationships outside work is associated with an elevated probability of experiencing depressive symptoms. In particular, nonreciprocal exchange in marital and parental roles is explored and, additionally, less specific experiences of imbalance in civic life are analysed.

When extending the model of effort–reward imbalance beyond the work role, several differences between working and nonworking life need to be taken into account. Firstly, the constraints of demands are often less pervasive and less explicitly stated in nonworking life, and the same holds true for the sanctions provided in case of unmet expectations. Thus, it may be more difficult to adequately weigh reward against effort. Moreover, it is difficult to obtain independent information on lack of reciprocity in these less formalized and more intimate social roles. Therefore, at the measurement level, a focus on subjective reports seems unavoidable (see the Methods section). A further difference between working and nonworking life concerns the nature of social reward. In marital and parental life, reward transmitters are more often of an emotional than of an economic nature where recurrent effort (e.g., domestic work) remains unpaid. Although feelings of esteem, respect, appreciation or love may prevail as reward transmitters in nonwork-related exchange material benefits nevertheless are important (e.g., gift relationships).

Despite these differences, there is a substantial communality of nonreciprocity of social exchange in terms of effort–reward imbalance within and outside work. In all these conditions, an imbalance between one's investments made in advance and unmet, though justified reward expectancies elicits a sense of unfairness or injustice. A state of social reward deficiency may trigger neuroregulatory dysfunction or disruption in the brain's reward structures [15].

Psychosomatic research on social relationships and health so far has largely focused on the concept of social support [16]. Although lack of reciprocity may be a characteristic of poor social support the sociological concept of reciprocity as defined in the current approach is much broader than the concept of social support as it applies to all types of cooperative social exchange. Nevertheless, in view of potential overlap between these concepts, we have introduced a measure of perceived adequacy of socioemotional support into the study, and we examined the independent effects of either concept.

The aim of the paper is twofold. First, we present an attempt towards measuring nonreciprocity of social exchange in marital and parental roles and, less specifically, in different civic roles. These measures are applied in elderly samples of men and women in two different countries to test their robustness. Secondly, associations of these measures with an important health indicator, depressive symptoms, are analysed.