Thriving together: the benefits of women's social ties for physical, psychological and relationship health

Abstract

The relationship between social support and well-being is well established in social psychology, with evidence suggesting that these benefits are especially prominent among women. When faced with an environmental stressor, women are more likely to adopt a tend-and-befriend strategy rather than fight-or-flight. Furthermore, female friendships tend to be higher in self-disclosure and more frequently relied on for social support, which is associated with physical and psychological benefits. Women are also more effective at providing social support, further augmenting those benefits. We begin with an overview of the characteristics of women's social ties and how they can be especially useful in times of stress. We then transition to the benefits of female social networks even in the absence of negative events and incorporate research from health and social psychology to consider the positive implications of having strong social bonds and the negative implications of lacking such bonds. Additionally, we consider cross-cultural differences in tendencies to seek out social support and its subsequent benefits, as well as the need for more research with culturally diverse samples. It remains unclear the extent to which patterns of social support benefits for women vary cross-culturally. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Cooperation among women: evolutionary and cross-cultural perspectives’.

New perspectives on the evolution of women's cooperation

“…In support, several studies characterize women and girls as forming fewer same-sex friendships, investing more in each relationship, being more likely to terminate relationships over social transgressions and being less cooperative than men and boys in same-sex interactions [ 43 , 45 , 53 , 55 – 61 , 63 – 66 ]. On the other hand, research from social and health psychology indicates that women are more likely to respond to stressful scenarios by seeking and providing support and engaging in other-oriented strategies despite interacting with strangers, whereas men are more likely to respond selfishly and competitively ([ 69 – 72 ], reviewed in [ 73 ]). Further, a review on children's prosocial behaviour found that girls were often found to have smaller playgroups, but they were more prosocial than boys in most other respects [ 64 ].…”

“…Kramer ([ 112 ], in this issue) argues that women's cooperation is responsive to a variety of factors, including cultural norms, life-history stage, subsistence strategy and household demography. In a similar vein, research in experimental settings indicates that women's cooperative behaviour may be more sensitive to their social partners' needs and behaviour than men's, and women may be more likely to shift social strategies depending on the costs and benefits of each scenario compared to men ([ 73 , 82 , 113 ], all in this issue).…”

“…Their comparison of Batek (Malaysian hunter–gatherers) and Tsimane (Bolivian horticulturalists) showed that Batak women, who experienced greater variability in daily foraging success, had more diffuse and diverse networks in contrast to Tsimane women, who relied on fewer, dependable cooperative partners, who were most often close kin, for horticultural labour. As another perspective, Bedrov & Gable ([ 73 ], in this issue) proposed that cross-cultural differences in cooperation should vary with society-level individualism versus collectivism, as women seek and benefit from cooperation differently in these contexts. Together, these studies highlight that women's cooperation is responsive to socioecological context and local cultural norms.…”

A mediator between childhood trauma and clinical symptoms in females with bipolar disorder: social support

“…The Social Convoy Model provides a conceptual framework that social support provided by parents in early childhood yields a "secure base" and a "safe haven" when faced with stress in subsequent life (77). These suggested that social support exerts a positive effect on life stress, and this bene t is also prominent in female people (32). The mechanisms by which social support impacts health and well-being are unclear.…”

“…Compared with males, females were more sensitive to low social support (30) and tended to seek and obtain social support when faced with environmental stressors (31). Therefore, females with BD may bene t more from social support interventions (32). Also, some studies have found that social support was associated with mood symptoms and could buffer the negative impact of childhood trauma on mood symptoms (33,34).…”