Research examining the relationship between social support and psychological well-being has largely ignored the negative side of social interactions. However, empirical evidence suggests that negative interactions can potentially be more harmful than social support is helpful. This article critically reviews the literature investigating the relationship between social support and negative social interactions and their simultaneous effect on psychological well-being. A review of 28 studies revealed that there are conceptual, theoretical, and methodological limitations associated with this body of research. In order to unravel some of these limitations, studies are grouped according to three conceptual models: the additive effects model, the moderator model, and the domain-specific model. Finally, the article discusses directions social work practice research should take to tackle and fully appreciate the complexities of the relationship between social support and psychological well-being.A long tradition of theory and research examines the relationship between social support and health. Research findings have repeatedly shown that people with spouses, family members, and friends who provide psychological and material support have better physical and mental health than those who have fewer resources. Mortality, morbidity, depression, and other undesirable health-related outcomes have been associated with the lack of social relationships (Blazer 1982;Cohen and Wills 1985;House, Umberson, and Landis 1988).Another substantial body of literature has used a stress and coping theoretical framework to examine the role of social factors in health and well-being. The theory posits that adaptation is influenced by the stressful life situations to which a person is exposed, by the appraisal of such stressors, and by the psychological and social resources available to cope with them (Lazarus 1966;Pearlin and Schooler 1978;Billings and Moos 1981;Lazarus and Folkman 1984). Given the importance of social resources, researchers are focusing on understanding the critical components of social networks and identifying their role in the stress and coping process.Most research in the field of social support focuses on its positive aspects, such as instrumental, emotional, esteem, and tangible support. These findings are well established and quite promising. However, the focus on the positive aspects of social support obscures that there are also costs associated with social relations. The negative side of social relationships has received considerably less attention. A small, but growing body of research Abramis, and Caplan 1985;Davis and Rhodes 1994). Other studies, however, report a stronger effect from positive interactions on psychological well-being (e.g., Okun and Keith 1998), whereas still others report equal effects of the two constructs (e.g., IngersollDayton, Morgan, and Antonucci 1997). These conflicting findings suggest that we must take a more balanced approach to investigating the relationship between social tie...