Unmitigated communion and support providers' psychological wellbeing

PhD ceremony: Ms. L. Jin, 14.30 uur, Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen

Dissertation: Unmitigated communion and support providers' psychological wellbeing

Promotor(s): prof. M. Hagedoorn, prof. R. Sanderman, prof. N.W. van Yperen

Faculty: Medical Sciences

Supporting a close one in times of need is beneficial for both the recipients and the providers of support. However, under similar circumstances, support providers can show great variability in their psychological wellbeing. The goal of this research is to gain more insight into the phenomenon of differences in psychological wellbeing of support providers by investigating a personality trait - unmitigated communion (UC). UC is defined as a focus on others to the exclusion of the self. Caring for others is a central aspect of high UC individuals’ self-identity. However, fulfilling such a caring role is at the cost of high UC individuals’ own health. High UC individuals are characterized by a series of problematic inter- and intra-personal cognitions. From our studies and experiments on the maladaptive cognitions of UC and implications of UC for support providers’ psychological wellbeing, four conclusions are drawn. (1) High UC support providers have difficulties to benefit from helping others; and (2) they stand a greater chance of becoming emotionally distressed in situations involving careing others. (3) Three distinct features of UC play crucial functions in such phenomenon, i.e., the excessive reliance on others’ opinions for self-evaluation, the low self-efficacy concerning support provision, and the tendency to experience other’s problem as one’s own. (4) The gender descent of UC was advised to be treated with caution. These conclusions highlight the importance of recognizing the implication of UC for individuals’ psychological wellbeing, especially in situations revolving around providing support to others.