Suchergebnisse

The present article aims to examine the ways in which social support may affect the adaptation of individuals to a novel social environment. A distinctive feature of this research was the assessment of social support both before and after entering a completely new network of social relationships. A cohort of international exchange high school students (N = 242) was administered a battery of self-report ques tionnaires dealing with personality traits, perceived social support, coping beha viors and emotional distress before leaving Japan and six months after living with a host family in a foreign community. Perceived social support abroad contributed to less emotional distress. This health-promoting effect of social support was found to be mediated by adaptive coping behaviours, and was not due to confounding by personality traits. Perceived social support at home was predictive of more emotional distress abroad. Subjects who reported high levels of social support at home were particularly vulnerable when they entered the completely new environment and found that such support was no longer available.

AbstractThis study investigated three questions: (1) Do both personal characteristics and perceived qualities of romantic relationships contribute to partners'perceptions of support? (2) Do these variables predict supportive behavior in partner interactions that can be observed by others? (3) How do situational characteristics affect the predictors of observed supportive behavior? Eighty‐six university undergraduates and their romantic partners completed a questionnaire packet and participated in a structured videotaped interaction that included a stress‐inducing intervention. Participants'perceived support from the relationship was predicted by participants'own personal characteristics and view of the relationship, as well as by partners'personal characteristics. Observed supportive behavior in a somewhat familiar task was related to personal characteristics of both partners and their views of the relationship. Supportive behavior after an experimenter‐administered stressor was predicted only by the couple's personal characteristics. Results demonstrate how study of social support in close relationships can advance understanding of relations between support perception and support receipt.

The work of 47 contributors from the U.S., Canada, and Israel, the Sourcebook gives special attention to the complexity of the social support construct, expanding the field's theoretical base by seriously reappraising social support research in the context of findings from other fields of psychology and related disciplines. Personality processes are specified to account for observed associations between social support and physical well-being. Several new studies are included which illustrate empirical approaches to exploring these processes. And key contributions highlight the great strides made in understanding the links among personal dispositions, situational contexts, and potentially supportive transactions