Social support, life stress, and psychological adjustment: A test of the buffering hypothesis

Abstract

Research on the relationship between stressful life events and psychological judgment has been criticized for not attending more fully to the multitude of factors potentially mediating that relationship. The present study assesses the influence of one such factor, social support, on that relationship. A group of 320 community residents completed questionnaires including two measures of support, two psychological distress scales, and a stressful life events scale. The hypothesis that social support mediates or serves as a buffer between life events and psychological distress was tested for each of the two support measures in combination with the life events measure in predicting each of the two psychological distress variables. All four of the resulting hypotheses were supported, although the amount of variance accounted for was much greater when the support measure used tapped quality of support rather than quantity of supportive relationships.

A reexamination of the effectiveness of self‐care education for persons with arthritis

“…Education level and disease diagnosis and duration were determined by questionnaire. The adequacy of informal social support provided by participants' families and friends was assessed by 2 subscales of Wilcox's Index of Supportive Encounters: perceived unmet need for support and perceived support satisfaction (32). Principal factors analysis indicated that the 6 multiple-choice items on these 2 subscales composed a single dimension (University of Virginia School of Nursing Arthritis Self-care Project: unpublished data), so the subscales were combined to form a single scale, i.e., perceived social support.…”

Solicitantes de asilo y sus familias en Bodo, Noruega ¿Sin espacio para la resiliencia?

“…Por su parte, Wilcox (1981) aborda el papel de las redes sociales y la solidaridad familiar como respuesta adaptativa al estrés, y Caplan et al (1989); Gold (1992); Haines et al (1981); Haines (1982); Hanh (1979), se aproximan en términos más amplios al tema, indagando cómo una larga tradición en materia de redes sociales y familiares, permite la recuperación y el mantenimiento de la cohesión familiar en eventos extremos.…”

“…Los testimonios desvelan cómo a través de las políticas de dispersión se envía a los solicitantes de asilo a lugares donde no cuentan con ningún referente cercano, perdiendo apoyos sociales y económicos, lo que repercute en su respuesta adaptativa al estrés. (Wilcox, 1981) Sin embargo, este es solo el primer eslabón de una cadena de negación y silencio, que despoja al migrante de su condición de 2 Importa señalar que se hace referencia a los procedimientos dictados por la UDI vigentes en el año del estudio. sujeto de derechos.…”

Community Severance and Health: What Do We Actually Know?

“…Theoretical underpinning for health effects of social integration A number of studies support the notion that social support acts as a buffer to moderate stressful life events and symptoms of distress. 53,63,64 These suggest that the implications of community severance for social contacts could directly contribute to poorer health. Although socioeconomic, cultural, and demographic factors have statistically important associations, Biegel felt that environmental factors, such as a sense of belonging and neighborhood stability, were the most important determinants of an individual's social support system.…”