Comparison Direction and Comparison Dimension among Disabled Individuals: Toward a Refined Conceptualization of Social Comparison Under Stress

Abstract

In a sample of 168 Dutch individuals falling under the Disablement Insurance Act, it was found that (a) uncertainty and frustration were related to a need for social comparison; (b) the desire for information about similar others was stronger than the desire for affiliation with such others; (c) the evaluation of one's situation was particularly affected by health problems and independently by the perception of being worse off than others;(d) there was a relatively stronger preference for contact with, and information about, others who were better off among those evaluating their own situation negatively; (e) individuals were more interested in obtaining information about comparable others who were coping better than in talking to such others; and (1) there were stronger upward preferences on the coping dimension than on the problem severity dimension. The results are discussed in the context of Taylor and Lobel's model.