Ressentiment as a mediator between social support and symptoms of depression in individuals after cardiac surgery

Introduction and objective: The aim of the study was to assess the role of ressentiment as a predictor in the relationship between perceived social support and the severity of depressive symptoms in patients after cardiac surgery. Previous studies indicate that emotion regulation processes play an important role in the course of illness and recovery. However, there is a lack of analyses that take into account the importance of ressentiment – understood as a persistent pattern of negative emotional and cognitive reactions – in the context of mental functioning and adaptation to somatic illness. This study fills this research gap by providing empirical data on the role of ressentiment in the psychological determinants of health. Materials and methods: A total of 242 adults (145 men and 97 women) were examined. The mean age was 55.4 years (SD = 12.21). Respondents completed the following questionnaires: the Beck Depression Inventory–Short Form (BDI-SF), Berlin Social Support Scales (BSSS), and Psychological Ressentiment Questionnaire (KRe-Psy). Results: The results indicate statistically significant relationships between ressentiment and social support, with both emotional and instrumental support showing a significant direct relationship with the severity of depressive symptoms. Mediation analyses showed that individuals with low levels of perceived social support were significantly more susceptible to depressive symptoms. In addition, ressentiment was found to play a significant role as a mediating mechanism in the relationships between coping strategies and the severity of depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Ressentiment was found to be an important psychological mechanism, within which all analysed forms of social support are directly related to the severity of depressive symptoms. It is essential that clinicians and psychologists implement targeted psychological interventions that take ressentiment into account in the prehabilitation process, thereby contributing to a reduction in depressive symptoms.