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Sociological
Perspectives
? 1990PacificSociological
Association
Copyright
therelationship
a belief
between
in a
ABSTRACT:Thispaperexplores
on theworkofPearlin,
justworldanddepression.
Building
Lieberman,
andMullan(1981),weinvestigate
therolethata belief
ina
Menaghan,
between
chronic
and
stressors
justworldmight
playin therelationship
adultresidents
depression.
Usinga random
sample
ofnoninstitutionalized
wefindthata belief
ina justworld
anda
(N = 283)ofNorthern
Ireland,
areindependent
andthata belief
ina
senseofmastery
cognitive
structures,
ondepression
hasa significant
overandabovetheeffect
justworld
effect
of
andresearch
Theoretical
mastery.
implications
generated
bythis
questions
arediscussed.
effort
INTRODUCTION
This paper examinestherelationshipbetweenthedegreeto whichindividuals believe thateventsand experiencesthatoccurto otherpeople are somehow deserved (referredto by Lerner[1980]as a beliefin a just world) and
In thispaper, we also examinethe natureof
depressivesymptomatology.
therelationshipofthebeliefthattheworldis a just place, chronicstressors,
and depression.The argumentis made thatifone believesthattheworldis a
fairand equitableplace, he/sheis less likelyto be depressedthanifone does
not hold this belief. It is furtherargued that this beliefmightaffectthe
relationshipbetween sources of stressand depression.We therefore
make
the argumentthat the concept of beliefin a just world is an important
additionto our understandingofthesocialpsychologyofmentalhealthand
thatthisconceptshouldbe incorporated
in further
studiesofstressfulevents
and depression.
Directall correspondence
to:Christian
ofSociologyand Anthropology,
Ritter,
Department
KentStateUniversity,
Kent,Ohio 44242
236
237
238
preexistingstressors,
thatlifeeventsmay createnew stressorsor intensify
response.
therebyproducinga stress-related
Role strainsare the primarytypeof chronicstressthathave been considered as mechanismslinkingstressfulevents to adverse reactionssuch as
depression.Exposureto stressfuleventscan increaserole strains,thereby
increasingthe likelihoodof distress.Ongoingrole strainscan also increase
to the effectof the lifeeventor distress.Economic
individualvulnerability
hardship,forexample,has been shown to be an importantmediatingvariable in the relationshipbetweenjob disruptionsand increasesin depression
(Pearlinet al. 1981),and therelationshipbetweensocioeconomicstatusand
depression(Pearlinet al. 1981;Ross and Huber 1985).
In assessing the natureof the relationshipbetween job disruptionand
depression,Pearlinand his associateshave demonstratedthatmuch of the
effectofjob disruptionis indirect,operatingthroughchangesin incomeand
economichardship(Pearlin1975;Pearlinet al. 1981).Ross and Huber (1985)
findthat economichardshipis increasedby low income, low education,
being young, and having young children. In turn, economic hardship
of economichardship
increasesthe level ofdepressiveaffect.The centrality
in the relationshipbetweenjob disruption,indicatorsof low social status,
and depression,supportsthepositionthattheabilityto meetfamilyobligationsby havingenough moneyto pay the bills and meet otherhousehold
needs, is a primaryfactorinterveningbetween the largersocial and economic orderand psychologicalwell-being(Ross and Huber 1985). Lack of
resourcesto meet these obligationsacts to increase role strainand, subsequently,increasespsychologicaldistress.The relationshipbetween life
and psychologicaldistress,can be
events,economichardship,self-concept,
used to explicitlysortout the natureof the relationshipbetween socioeconomic statusand psychologicaldistressthathas been clearlydocumented
(Dohrenwendand Dohrenwend1969;Wheaton1978;Kessler 1982).
The above discussionsuggeststhatin orderto assess theprocessthrough
to
whichstressorsresultin increasesin psychologicaldistress,itis important
be
considerrolestrainsand componentsoftheself.These elementscan used
to clarifythe natureof therelationshipbetweenacute stressors,such as job
loss and relateddistress,as well as socioeconomicstatusand distress.
While the models of the stressprocess thatinclude economichardship,
have providedan elaborationthatservesto explain
mastery,and self-esteem
observedassociationsbetweenlifeeventsand distress,and between social
statusand distress,the above discussionsuggeststhatthe degree to which
one believesthattheworldis a fairand equitableplace mayplay an imporeconomichardshipand
tantrole in the etiologyof depression.Specifically,
lowersocialstatusshouldserveto decreasethedegreeto whichpeople view
theworldtobe a justplace,whichin turnshouldservetoincreasepsychologibeliefin a just world may serve to bufferthe
cal distress.Alternatively,
chronic
stress
on depression.In the nextsectionof this
effects
of
negative
239
paper,we considertheways in whicha beliefin a justworldmaybe incorporated in models assessing the relationshipbetween stressfulevents and
and mentalhealth.
circumstances,
Purpose
The purposeofthisstudyis to determinewhetherthebeliefthattheworld
is a just place is relatedto depressionand to determinetheroleitplaysin the
relationshipbetweenpotentialsourcesofdepressionand subsequentdepression. Beforethiscan be done, however,some measurementissues mustbe
information
concernaddressed. Because oftherelativelackofpsychometric
ing scales used to measurebeliefin a just world, one of the questionswe
address is whetherbeliefin a just worldand masterycan be independently
measured.Once thisempiricalquestionis answered,we determinewhether
beliefin a just worldis associatedwithdepressionand whetheritaffectsthe
relationshipbetween incomeand economichardshipand depressionover
and above the effectof masteryon these relationships.
METHODS
Sample
The listingfromwhichthissample was drawnis the 1987ElectoralRegister of NorthernIreland. The ElectoralRegistercontains the names and
addresses of all persons in NorthernIreland who are entitledto vote at
UnitedKingdomParliamentary,
EuropeanAssembly,and NorthernIreland
elections.The ElectoralRegister,overall,is regardedas theleastbiased and
adults in NorthernIreland
most accurateof any listof noninstitutionalized
thatis readilyavailable to the public.
randomsamplewas drawnfrom
UsingtheElectoralRegister,a systematic
each oftheelectoralsubdivisionsin theprovince.Thisprocedureresultedin
a sample of805 citizens.Usingthesame method,a replacementsampleof63
was subsequentlydrawn to replace those people who had died, moved
withouta forwarding
address,or whose questionnaires,forwhateverother
reason,were returnedunopened (N = 291). Eightofthereplacementquestionnaireswere returnedblank,yieldinga usable sample of283. Whilethis
rate of returnis clearlyless than optimal,a comparisonof demographic
characteristics
fromthe GeneralHousehold Survey(similarin the U.K. to
theGeneralSocial Survey)withthosefromthepresentsamplesuggeststhat
it is fairlyrepresentative
of the adult populationof the province.
The sample was drawnfromthe noninstitutionalized
adult populationof
NorthernIrelandfora numberofreasons.First,at thetimetheresearchwas
Irelandhad an unemployment
conducted,Northern
rateof18.3%(Manchester
GuardianWeekly1988),and, historically,
theprovincehas had a chronically
240
241
242
Hierarchical
RegressionofDemographic
Variables,Hardship,Mastery,
and Beliefin a JustWorld(BJW)on Depression
coefficients
are reportedwithinparentheses)
(standardized
Equations
Income
Working
Married
Female
Age
Hardship
Mastery
BJW
-0.201
-0.980
-0.622
0.316
-0.022
(-0.210)" -0.097
(-0.171)' -1.094
(-0.103) -0.906
( 0.055) 0.280
(-0.120) -0.015
0.189
(-0.101)'
(-0.191)"
(-0.150)
( 0.049)
(-0.083)
( 0.221)
R
AdjustedR2
0.410
0.150
IncrementalR2
-0.070
-0.670
-0.991
0.202
-0.011
0.136
-0.302
(-0.073)
(-0.117)
(-0.164)'
( 0.035)
(-0.060)
( 0.159)'
(-0.328)
-0.068 (-0.071)
-0.691 (-0.120)+
-0.943 (-0.156)
0.196 (-0.034)
-0.008 (-0.041)
0.121 ( 0.142)
-0.305 (-0.332)f
-0.097 (-0.122)
0.454
0.185
0.548
0.278
0.539
0.290
0.035
0.093
0.012
+ Significant
at the0.10level
at the0.05level
Significant
at the0.01level
Significant
at the0.001level
Significant
243
equationcontainsmeasuresofincome,employment,
maritalstatus,gender,
and age. In the second step of the analysiseconomichardshipis added to
the model; masteryis added in the thirdstep; and beliefin a just world is
added in the finalstep (equation4). Variablesare includedin orderof their
positionin the theoretically
implicitcausal sequence. While masteryis not
assumed to be causallypriorto beliefin a just world,it is includedfirstin
orderto requireany effecton depressionto be the net of mastery.
The findingsshown in Table 1 address the degree to which economic
stress,mastery,and self-esteem
affectdepressionand theeffectsofmastery
and beliefin a just world in mediatingthe impactof potentialsources of
depression.The resultsofthefirstequationindicatethatincomeand employmentstatusare significantly
relatedto depression;those withhigherlevels
of incomeand those employedare the least depressed.
In the second equation,witheconomichardshipadded, the overallvariance in depression explained is increasedby 3.5 percentrepresentingan
additional23 percentin total explained variance. As expected,economic
hardshiphas a positiveeffect
on depression(p = 0.221,p < 0.001).Moreover,
economichardshipmediatesthe effectof low incomeon depression.Comparisonof the unstandardizedcoefficients
in equation1 withthosein equation2 indicatesthattheinclusionofeconomichardshipreducesthe effectof
incomeon depression(from- 0.201 to - 0.097). This reductionrepresentsa
reductionof52 percentin thesteepnessoftheslope ofdepressionon income.
Masterywas added to the model in equation3 and was foundto have a
significant
impacton depression(p = - 0.328,p < 0.001). The inclusionof
masteryadds an additional9.3 percentto the amountofvarianceexplained
in depression (representingan increase of 50 percentin total explained
variance).The additionof masteryservesto further
reducethe relationship
betweenincomeand depressionas well as to reduce the effectof economic
hardshipon depressionby 28 percent(from0.189 to 0.136),therebyproviding some suggestiveevidencethatmasterymediatespartoftherelationship
between these variables and depression given the proposed model. The
natureof thisand otherrelationships,of course,awaits further
assessment
withthe use of longitudinaldata not available to us at the time.
In the finalequation,beliefin a just worldis added to the equation. The
resultsindicatethat this variableis significantly
(albeitweakly) relatedto
depression (p = -0.122, p < 0.05). Adding this variableto the equation
increasesthe overallvarianceby 1.2 percent(contributing
about 10 percent
ofthetotalvarianceexplained).This findingis consistentwithour hypothesis thatindividualswho believethattheworldis a fairplace are less likelyto
be depressed. Comparisonsoftheunstandardizedcoefficients
in step3 with
thosein step4 indicatethatinclusionofbeliefin a just worldreducespartof
the relationshipbetweeneconomichardshipand depression.The impactof
economichardshipdrops by an additional8 percentwith the inclusionof
beliefin a just world.
244
Income
-1.212 (-0.201)***
BJW
-0.103 (-0.129)-
Mastery
Dependent
BJW
Dependent
Hardship
Dependent
-0.510 (-0.456).
1.510 ( 0.241)...
1.578 ( 0.224):::
R
AdjustedR2
0.556
0.293
0.346
0.112
0.167
0.020
-Variable
0.463
0.205
245
Worrkin
Income
.241
-.135
j1
*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~y
Figure1
Restricted
AdditivePathModelofDepression(standardized
regression
coefficients)
246
TABLE3
Variables,Hardship,Mastery,Beliefin
ofDemographic
Regression
Hierarchical
coefficients
Variableson Depression(standardized
a JustWorld(BJW)and Interaction
are reportedwithinparentheses)
Equations
Income
Working
Married
Female
Age
Hardship
Mastery
BJW
HAR*MAST
HAR*BJW
R
AdjustedR
-0.068
-0.691
-0.943
0.196
-0.008
0.121
-0.305
-0.097
(-0.071)
(-0.120)+
(-0.156)
(-0.034)
(-0.041)
( 0.142)
(-0.332)
(-0.122)
-0.080
-0.757
-0.825
0.265
-0.011
0.641
-0.014
-0.060
-0.064
0.560
0.290
R
Incremental
(-0.083)
(-O.132)
(-0.137)
( 0.046)
(-0.062)
( 0.747)
(-0.015)
(-0.076)
(-0.659)**'
-0.066
-0.749
-0.874
0.189
-0.010
0.214
-0.294
-0.043
(-0.069)
(-0.130)+
(-0.145)
( 0.033)
(-0.052)
( 0.250)(-0.320)
(-0.054)
-0.014
(-0.132)
0.613
0.350
0.564
0.290
0.062
0.004
models.
'EquationNumber1 is an additivemodel,whileequations2 and 3 areinteractive
+ Significant
at the0.10level
at the0.05level
Signi'ficant
at the0.01level
Significant
at the0.001level
Significant
DISCUSSION
This studyis an initialattemptto empiricallyassess whetherbelievingin a
justworldis relatedtodepressionand todeterminethenatureoftherelationship betweenpotentialsourcesof distressand subsequentdepression.The
predictedrole of the beliefin a just worldin theserelationshipsis theoreticallyderivedand empiricallyassessed withpopulation-baseddata.
Analysis of these data provides for a preliminaryassessment of these
usingquestionnairedata fromNorthernIreland.These data are
relationships
well suited, given the degree of economichardship,religious
particularly
and stressin the province.Anotherstrengthof thisstudy
fundamentalism,
it
is
an
attemptto situatethe beliefthatthe world is a just place
is that
withinsocialprocessesusinga reasonablylargeadultsample.Bothantecedents
and potentialconsequencesof thisbeliefare examined.
Althoughthis studyhas a numberof strengths,it is limitedin several
ways and any conclusionsdrawnfromthisresearchmustbe made in lightof
First,thisis a studyofadultresidentsofNorthernIreland;
theselimitations.
we do notknow ifthereportedrelationshipsinvolvingbeliefin a just world
247
248
andequitableplace.Thisconsequence
flowsfrom
thespeculation
thatwhen
"bad" thingsdo happento "good"people,one'sperception
ofa consistent
andunderstandable
worldis threatened,
leadingtothefeeling
thatlifeconsequenceshave not turnedout as expectedthereby
leadingto depression.
Bothself-consistency
theory
(Swann1983)andidentity
theory
(Stryker
1980;
Callero1985)wouldpredict,
however,thatsuchan eventmightnoterode
one's "faith"thattheworldis a justplace.Ifa viewthattheworldis a just
placeis a central
partofoneormoreimportant
identities
andis, therefore,
a
corecomponent
ofone's senseofself,thepersonwillprocesstheinformationso thatthejustworldviewis reaffirmed,
thereby
erasingthedepressive
response,afterthedestabilizing
event(s)has passed.Suchresearchshould
helpto illuminate
thewaysin whichbeliefin a justworldis relatedto and
withdifferent
and on howa variety
ofstructural
interacts
typesofstressors
and socialpsychological
conditions
are relatedto a varietyof self-concept
processes.Unlikea senseofmastery,
beliefin a justworlddoes notappear
buta rather
tobe a "copingresource"
globalideologyoperating
muchlikean
whichdoes havean effect
on levelsofdepres"implicit
personality
theory"
thedynamics
oftheserelationships
sion.Investigating
shouldhelptodeterminetherolesucha beliefstructure
(and othersuchstructures)
playsin a
behavioral
wide rangeof socialpsychological
phenomenawithattendant
consequences
havingsocialstructural
implications.
forMajorVariables
AppendixA. Itemsand ResponseCategories
areincludedinfinalscale.Loadingsarepresented
forthe
Itemsmarkedwithan asterisk(*)
itemsthatloaded 0.40 or higheron Factor1.
Depressive
Symptoms
Duringthepastweek:
*a. I was botheredby thingsthatusuallydon'tbotherme (0.4172).
b. I did notfeellikeeating,myappetitewas poor.
c. I feltdepressed(0.6712).
d. I had troublekeepingmymindon whatI was doing.
I did tooka lotofeffort.
e. I feltthateverything
*f. I feltfearful
(0.7876).
g. I couldn'tsleep verywell.
h. I talkedless thanusual.
*i. I feltlonely(0.7101).
j
I feltsad (0.7860).
k. I couldn'tseemto do whathad to be done.
Uudgedon a fourpointscalefrom"Never"to "Mostofthetime."Range = 0-13;Mean = 2.443;
S.D. = 2.865.Alphaforscaleincluding
itemsa, c, f,i, j = 0.825.]
Mastery
*a. I have littlecontroloverthethingsthathappento me (0.7654).
*b. Thereis reallyno wayI can solvesomeoftheproblemsI have (0.7778).
(continued)
249
Appendix A. (continued)
c. I oftenfeelhelplessin dealingwiththeproblemsoflife(0.7890).
thingsin my life
*d. Thereis not muchI can do to changemanyof the important
(0.8023).
*e. SometimesI feelI'm beingpushedaroundin life(0.7180).
agree"to"Strongly
disagree."Range= 0-15;Mean Uudgedon a fourpointscale,from"Strongly
e = 0.836.J
9.070;S.D. = 3.121.Alphaforscaleincludingitemsa through
in theJustWorld
Belief
he has.
a. I've foundthata personrarelydeservesthereputation
fora guiltypersonto getofffreein NorthemIreland
b. It is a commonoccurrence
courts.
c. Peoplewho get"lucky"have usuallyeamed theirgood fortune.
d. Good deeds oftengo unnoticedand unrewarded.
e. It is rareforan innocentman to be wronglysentto jail.
f. Manypeople suffer
throughabsolutelyno faultoftheirown.
*g. Byand large,people deservewhattheyget(0.8680).
*h. Basically,theworldis a justplace (0.5308).
have oftenbroughtiton themselves(0.7743).
*i. Peoplewho meetwithmisfortune
It is oftenimpossiblefora personto receivea fairtrialin NorthemIreland.
j.
ona sixpointscale,from
"Strongly
agree"to"Strongly
disagree."
Range= 0-15;MeanJudged
itemsg,h,i = 0.630.1
6.579;S.D. = 3.603.Alphaforscaleincluding
Economic
Hardship
Duringthepast 12 months,how oftendid it happenthatyou DID NOT have enough
moneyto:
*a. Afford
thekindof foodthatyou thoughtyourhouseholdshouldhave (0.8926).
thekindofclothesyou thoughtyourhouseholdshouldhave (0.8924).
*b. Afford
*C. Afford
furniture
or householdequipmentthatneeds to be replaced(0.8704).
*d. Payyourbills(0.7918).
"Never"to"Very
ona four
often."
Range= 0-12;Mean= 3.490;S.D.
pointscale,from
Uudged
d = 0.891.]
3.341.Alphaforscaleincluding
items
a through
Correlation
Matrixof
AppendixB. PearsonProduct-Moment
Used
in
Analysis
Variables
IncomeWorking
Married Sex
Age Hardship
Mastery BIW Depress
Income
1.0000 .4141 .3346 -.1249 .1223 -.4057 .2548 .0930 -.3363
1.0000 .1477 -.1439 -.2262 -.0481 .2528 -.0477 -.2535
Working
Married
1.0000 -.2047 .4264 -.0142 .0611 .1303 -.2608
Sex
1.0000 -.2069 .0671 -.1033 -.0564 .1518
1.0000 -.1610 .0524 .2081 -.1622
Age
1.0000 -.2474 -.1641 .2898
Hardship
1.0000 .0124 -.4327
Mastery
1.0000 -.1816
BJM
1.0000
Depress
250
Anearlier
verAcknowledgments:
at
sionofthispaperwas presented
the annual meetingof the North
PittsAssociation,
Central
Sociological
burgh,April1988.Wewishtothank
Stanford
StevanE. Hobfoll,
Gregory,
DavidPugh,andEugeneWenninger
forcomments
on earlierdrafts.
NOTES
1. Withrespecttoage, thepresentsample overrepresents
peopleunder55byan
averageof1.3%andunderrepresents
those
over55 byan averageof2.3%;overrepresentsmenby 3%; overrepresents
Catholicsby2.2% and underrepresents
Protestantsbyabout1%;and,finally,
overrepresentstheunemployed
by 4.2%.
2. Whilenotdenyingthatlevelsofstress
are verylikelyto be higherin Northern
Irelandthanmostotherplacesintheworld,
suchstress
formostpeopleintheprovince
is not likelyto be theresultof personal
exposureto violence.Asidefromimages
obtainedfromthe media over
primarily
thepast20 years,onlya smallpercentage
ofthepopulationin a fewareashavehad
most
suchdirectexposure.The condition
associatedwiththecreationoftensionis
the alterationof the habitsof dailylife
whenentering
a the(e.g.,being"frisked"
ateror changingone's routeto a destination to avoid "trouble")createdby the
presenceofsocialcontrol
forcesattendant
Itshouldalsobe notedthat
totheconflict.
NorthemIrelandhas verylowlevels of
othertypesofinterpersonal
violencesuch
as rapeand armedassault.
3. Itmaybe arguedthattheturmoil
and
in theprovstrife
historically
experienced
ince reducesthepossibility
of generalizingfromthesedatatoothersocieties.We
do notfindthatargument
for
compelling
itassumesthatthelevel
tworeasons.First,
ofturbulence
is suchthatmost,ifnotall,
of the populationis affected.As noted
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