Targeted rejection is a specific type of social rejection (active, intentional, and personal) that was found to have powerful impact on mental health, especially when it comes to depression and suicide risk.
Here’s an overview of the key research findings from the five most relevant articles on targeted rejection:
- Targeted Rejection Predicts Hastened Onset of Major Depression (2009)
- Targeted Rejection Triggers Differential Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Gene Expression in Adolescents as a Function of Social Status (2013)
- Endogenous opioid system influences depressive reactions to socially painful targeted rejection life events (2014)
- Targeted Rejection Predicts Decreased Anti-Inflammatory Gene Expression and Increased Symptom Severity in Youth With Asthma (2015)
- Preliminary Associations among Relational Victimization, Targeted Rejection, and Suicidality in Adolescents: A Prospective Study (2019)
What is Targeted Rejection?
Targeted rejection refers to situations where an individual is deliberately and intentionally rejected or excluded by others.
The key aspects are that:
- The rejection is directed specifically at one person
- It’s an active and intentional rejection
- It severs an existing social relationship or connection
What are some real-life examples of targeted rejection
Based on the research, some real-life examples of targeted rejection include:
- Being broken up with by a romantic partner. This involves the intentional severing of an established social bond directed specifically at one person.
- Getting fired from a job, especially if the individual is singled out rather than part of a larger layoff. This represents active rejection from an employer directed at a specific employee.
- Being kicked out of a social group, club, or organization. This involves intentional exclusion of a particular individual from an established social circle.
- A student being asked to leave an academic program after failing qualifying exams or not meeting performance standards. This represents targeted rejection from an educational institution
- Being disowned or cut off by family members. This severs important familial social bonds in a targeted way.
- Having a close friend suddenly end the friendship. This involves the intentional termination of an established social relationship.
- Being voted off a team or out of a competition. This singles out a specific individual for exclusion.
- Having a mentor or advisor terminate their professional relationship with you. This represents targeted rejection in a professional/academic context.
- Being expelled from school for disciplinary reasons. This involves targeted exclusion from an educational institution.
- Having a business partnership dissolved where one partner forces the other out. This represents targeted rejection in a professional context.
How does targeted rejection affect depression?
Studies have found that experiencing targeted rejection can lead to depression onset much more quickly compared to other stressful life events:
- People who experienced targeted rejection became depressed about 3 times faster than those who experienced other severe stressors.
- Nearly half of people who faced targeted rejection became depressed within just 15 days.
- For other types of stressors, only about 18% became depressed that quickly.
This suggests targeted rejection may be an especially potent trigger for depressive episodes.
What about suicide risk?
Research indicates targeted rejection may also increase suicide risk, particularly in adolescents and young adults:
- The month following a major social rejection event was associated with higher risk of suicide attempts in teens.
- Feelings of rejection and exclusion are linked to increased suicidal thoughts.
- Rejection appears to intensify feelings of not belonging and being a burden – two key factors thought to contribute to suicidal desire.
However, rejection alone is likely not enough to cause suicide attempts. Other risk factors also play an important role.
How does targeted rejection differ from general social rejection
Based on the research, targeted rejection differs from general social rejection in several key ways:
1. Specificity and intentionality: Targeted rejection involves rejection that is deliberately directed at and meant to affect a single individual, whereas general social rejection can be broader and less intentional. This targeted nature may make it more psychologically impactful.
2. Faster onset of depression: Studies have found that targeted rejection predicts a significantly faster onset of major depressive episodes compared to other types of severe stressors, including non-targeted rejection events. One study found that individuals who experienced targeted rejection became depressed about 3 times faster than those who experienced other severe stressors.
3. Isolated impact: Targeted rejection affects only the targeted individual directly, while general rejection may impact multiple people. This isolated nature may intensify the psychological effects.
4. Social demotion: Targeted rejection involves an actual loss of social status or severing of an established social bond, rather than just a thwarted social gain. This concrete social loss may be more damaging.
5. Stronger biological stress response: Some research suggests targeted rejection may trigger more pronounced biological stress responses, including inflammatory responses, compared to other types of social stress.
6. Genetic moderation: Studies have found that genetic factors, like variations in opioid system genes, may moderate the depressogenic effects of targeted rejection specifically, but not other types of rejection.
7. Domain-specific effects: The effects of targeted rejection appear to be consistent across different life domains (e.g. romantic, work, etc.), whereas general rejection may have more variable effects depending on context.
8. Resistance to protective factors: The rapid onset of depression following targeted rejection appears to occur even in individuals without a history of depression, suggesting it may overwhelm typical protective factors.
In summary, while both types of rejection can negatively impact mental health, targeted rejection appears to have more severe, rapid, and specific effects on mental health. Its targeted nature seems to make it a particularly potent trigger for depression.
Why is targeted rejection so impactful?
Researchers believe targeted rejection is particularly harmful because:
- It threatens our fundamental need to belong and feel socially connected
- It can damage self-esteem and trigger feelings of shame
- It may activate biological stress responses that promote depressive behaviors
- For teens especially, peer rejection can be extremely painful due to heightened sensitivity during this developmental stage
While many types of stress can contribute to mental health issues, targeted rejection appears to be an especially potent trigger for depression onset and may create periods of increased suicide risk, particularly in young people. Understanding these effects can help improve risk assessment and prevention.
Citations:
Slavich, G. M., Thornton, T., Torres, L. D., Monroe, S. M., & Gotlib, I. H. (2009). Targeted rejection predicts hastened onset of major depression. Journal of social and clinical psychology, 28(2), 223-243Murphy, M. L., Slavich, G. M., Rohleder, N., & Miller, G. E. (2013).
Targeted rejection triggers differential pro-and anti-inflammatory gene expression in adolescents as a function of social status. Clinical psychological science, 1(1), 30-40.
Slavich, G. M., Tartter, M. A., Brennan, P. A., & Hammen, C. (2014). Endogenous opioid system influences depressive reactions to socially painful targeted rejection life events. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 49, 141-149Murphy, M. L., Slavich, G. M., Chen, E., & Miller, G. E. (2015).
Targeted rejection predicts decreased anti-inflammatory gene expression and increased symptom severity in youth with asthma. Psychological Science, 26(2), 111-121.
Massing-Schaffer, M., Helms, S. W., Rudolph, K. D., Slavich, G. M., Hastings, P. D., Giletta, M., … & Prinstein, M. J. (2019). Preliminary associations among relational victimization, targeted rejection, and suicidality in adolescents: A prospective study. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 48(2), 288-295.
This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
