Perceived responses to capitalization attempts are influenced by self‐esteem and relationship threat

Discussing good news builds strength in relationships. In particular, perceiving a close other as enthusiastic about good fortune can help individuals maintain relational strength when relationship security is threatened. In an experiment and a daily diary study, how self‐esteem moderates perceptions of a partner's response to these capitalization attempts following relationship threats were examined. After having been primed with relationship threat (Study 1) or on days following relationship conflict (Study 2), low‐self‐esteem persons perceived less partner enthusiasm about their good news, but high‐self‐esteem persons perceived more partner enthusiasm. Self‐esteem had no effect after a neutral prime or no‐conflict days. These results indicate that capitalization as a strategy for repairing relationships may depend on the partners' self‐esteem.     

Perceived social support from family and friends: measurement across disparate samples

This research investigates the psychometric properties of the Perceived Social Support (PSS; Procidano & Heller, 1983) from family and friends across three samples: a chronic-psychiatric sample, a diabetic sample, and an undergraduate college student sample. Comparisons of internal consistency, central tendency, and dispersion for both the perceived family support (PSS-FA) and the perceived friend support (PSS-FR) are reported, as are the relationships between these two scales for each group. Correlations with general health status and psychiatric symptomatology are also reported. The utility of this measure for generalizable research on social support is discussed.     

Perceived social support, self-efficacy, and adjustment to abortion

Prior to their having a 1st trimester abortion, women's perceptions of social support from their partner, family, and friends and self-efficacy for coping were assessed. Depression, mood, physical complaints, and anticipation of negative consequences were measured after the 30-min recovery period. As predicted, perceived social support enhanced adjustment indirectly through its effects on self-efficacy. Women who perceived high support from their family, friends, and partners had higher self-efficacy for coping. Higher self-efficacy, in turn, predicted better adjustment on the psychological measures but not on the physical complaint measure. No direct path between social support and adjustment was observed. In addition, women who told close others of their abortion but perceived them as less than completely supportive had poorer postabortion psychological adjustment than either women who did not tell or women who told and perceived complete support.     

Familialism, social support, and stress: positive implications for pregnant Latinas

This study examined the association of familialism, a cultural value that emphasizes close family relationships, with social support, stress, pregnancy anxiety, and infant birth weight. Foreign-born Latina (n = 31), U.S.-born Latina (n = 68), and European American (n = 166) women living in the United States participated in a prospective study of pregnancy in which they completed measures of familialism, social support, stress, and pregnancy anxiety during their second trimester. As expected, Latinas scored higher on familialism than European Americans. Familialism was positively correlated with social support and negatively correlated with stress and pregnancy anxiety in the overall sample. As predicted, however, the associations of familialism with social support and stress were significantly stronger among Latinas than European Americans. Moreover, higher social support was associated with higher infant birth weight among foreign-born Latinas only. Implications of cultural values for relationships and health are discussed.     

Building social support for adolescents with suicidal ideation: implications for school guidance and counselling

This study involved interviews with 13 adolescents with high levels of suicidal ideation. It aimed to understand how these adolescents perceived their family, school and peer relationships, and how they perceived these systems as their support. Comparison between adolescents with severe and mild suicidal ideation showed that the family, school and peers could act as effective support systems in times of stress. A close interpersonal relationship was the key factor in unlocking these support systems. The school as a support system was highlighted. Implications for school guidance and counselling to strengthen the social support of adolescents and adolescents' resiliency were discussed.     

Trajectories of relationship satisfaction: Independent contributions of capitalization and support perceptions

Associations among perceptions of partner responses to disclosures about capitalization and support experiences and relationship satisfaction were examined over 1 year in 268 individuals in romantic relationships. Multilevel modeling indicated that capitalization and support perceptions covaried over 1 year, but they independently predicted contemporaneous relationship satisfaction and appeared to be compensatory processes. However, with increasing relationship duration, support perceptions became more strongly associated with relationship satisfaction, whereas capitalization perceptions became less strongly associated with relationship satisfaction, suggesting that capitalization perceptions may play less of a buffering role with time. Results suggested that perceiving partners as interested and enthusiastic in the face of triumph, and as caring and supportive in the face of difficulties, serve important and independent relationship maintenance functions.     

Perceived social support and life satisfaction among freshmen: Mediating roles of academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment

This study investigated the mediating roles of academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment in the relationship between perceived social support and life satisfaction among Nigerian university freshmen. A total of 621 beginning university students (females = 50.4%, mean age = 19.67years, SD = 4.56) completed surveys of their academic self-efficacy, academic adjustment, perceived social support, and life satisfaction. Results, following regression analysis with partial mediation, revealed only academic adjustment to significantly mediate the relationship between perceived social support and life satisfaction. Social support networks from family and faculty members might enhance freshmen’s academic adjustment related life satisfaction.     

Perceived support for mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach

Two studies were conducted to examine how perceptions of support for mentoring relate to mentoring attitudes and outcomes for both protégés and mentors, over and above established predictors. In study 1, protégés provided information on their perceptions of support for mentoring and mentoring received. As expected, perceived management support for mentoring was positively related to career-related and psychosocial support; and perceived mentor accountability for mentoring was negatively related to mentoring problems. In study 2, we examined mentors’ perceptions of support for mentoring in relation to their willingness to mentor others in the future and the extent to which they viewed their current relationship as complementary. Mentors’ perceptions of management support for mentoring were positively related to their belief that mentoring relationships were mutually beneficial. However, consistent with theories of self-determination, as mentors’ perceptions of their own accountability in the relationship increased their willingness to mentor others in the future decreased. Implications for mentoring theory, future research, and applied practice are discussed.     

Perceived racism and vascular reactivity in black college women: moderating effects of seeking social support.

This quasi-experimental study explored the association of perceived racism and seeking social support to vascular reactivity in a college sample of 110 Black women. Perceived racism and seeking social support were assessed via self-report, and vascular reactivity was measured before and during a standardized speaking task. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that perceived racism was positively related to changes in systolic blood pressure. These analyses also indicated that seeking social support moderated the relationship between perceived racism and systolic blood pressure changes. This interaction effect persisted after controlling for several potential confounders. Follow-up regression analyses showed that perceived racism was positively associated with reactivity among participants who were low in seeking social support. A significant relationship was not observed between perceived racism and systolic blood pressure changes among participants who were high in seeking social support. Perceived racism and seeking social support were not significantly associated with changes in diastolic blood pressure. These findings highlight the importance of examining psychosocial factors that may mitigate the hypothesized relationship between perceived racism and reactivity.     

Developing effective social support: Team building and the social support process

Abstract

Team members who provide each other with several types of social support (e.g., listening support, reality confirmation support, and task appreciation support) offer each other the opportunity to increase their physical and emotional well-being. Also, teams that employ strategies to enhance their social support as part of a team-building intervention are more likely to build a working, achieving, successful organization, one with effective communication and a shared commitment to team goals and a team vision of success. This article presents a rationale for enhancing the development of team social support, describes the social support process and a measurement tool based on the characteristics of that process, outlines strategies for maintaining and enhancing student-athletes' social support, and concludes with comments regarding intervention evaluation.     

Perceived supervisor support: contributions to perceived organizational support and employee retention

Three studies investigated the relationships among employees' perception of supervisor support (PSS), perceived organizational support (POS), and employee turnover. Study 1 found, with 314 employees drawn from a variety of organizations, that PSS was positively related to temporal change in POS, suggesting that PSS leads to POS. Study 2 established, with 300 retail sales employees, that the PSS-POS relationship increased with perceived supervisor status in the organization. Study 3 found, with 493 retail sales employees, evidence consistent with the view that POS completely mediated a negative relationship between PSS and employee turnover. These studies suggest that supervisors, to the extent that they are identified with the organization, contribute to POS and, ultimately, to job retention.     

Perceived social support,coping, and symptoms of distress in American and Spanish students

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test whether coping responses mediated the influence of perceived social support on symptoms of anxiety/depression, social withdrawal, and aggressive behavior in American (N=349) and Spanish students (N=437). Participants completed measures of perceived support, social stress, coping, and distress. Coping partially mediated relations between perceived support and distress, with coping mediation most evident in individuals facing high levels of social stress. Decreased use of disengagement coping by individuals with high perceived support appears to partially explain the protective value of perceived social support. Multiple group covariance structure analysis showed that models linking perceived support, coping, and distress were very similar across cultures, suggesting that the mechanisms underlying decreased risk for individuals with high perceived support may be relatively independent of cultural context, and that interventions designed to increase perceived support and decrease disengagement could be appropriate in both cultures.     

Differential risk theory as a subset of social exchange theory: implications for making gay marriage culturally normative and for understanding stigma against homosexuals

Differential risk theory, a subset of social exchange and equity theories, is proposed as an explanation for stigma towards homosexuals and as a basis for normative preferences for heterosexual marriage. Numerous gender differences involved in long-term relationships require members of such close relationships to assume greater interpersonal and social risks and thus costs, compared to same-gender relationships. Without compensating rewards or reduced costs, heterosexual relationships would be unfairly disadvantaged. Resistance to making gay marriage normative and/or equivalent legally to heterosexual marriage may be traced, rather than to homophobia, to societal attempts to maintain equity between classes of relationships characterized by inherent differential risks.     

Perceived social support mediates between prior attachment and subsequent adjustment: a study of urban African American children.

The processes whereby attachment and other social and cognitive factors contribute to social and emotional adjustment were examined. Participants were 56 African American children from low-income urban families. Attachment and sociability were assessed in the strange situation when children were 4.5 years old. Two years later, children were interviewed regarding their perceptions of social support and their attributions about others' intentions. Also assessed at Time 2 were child verbal intelligence, defensive response style, children's self-reports, and parent reports of child adjustment. As expected, attachment uniquely predicted perceived social support. Insecure attachment predicted self-reports of behavior problems and parental report of internalizing problems. Perceived social support was associated positively and significantly with viewing ambiguously depicted actions as prosocial rather than aggressive. Perceived social support was found to mediate the relation between attachment and adjustment. Results suggest that behaviorally mediated strategies for relating to caregivers in early childhood predict generalized social perception, thought, and emotion at later ages.     

Effects of the coronavirus pandemic on perceived capitalization support provision and receipt

The coronavirus pandemic has influenced relationship dynamics due to heightened stress, increased isolation, and the need for social distancing. Prior work suggests receiving support for positive events (“capitalization support”) during this time could boost well-being, but only if it is provided in a manner that is active (involved) and constructive (supportive), as opposed to passive (uninvolved) and/or destructive (discouraging). Given the need for reduced social contact, we predicted the pandemic would make providing active, constructive support more challenging and might increase the frequency of passive support. We conducted two studies to explore how perceptions of capitalization methods may have shifted during the pandemic using an online participant pool (MTurk). Overall, we found that participants reported receiving significantly less active-constructive capitalization support and receiving more passive-constructive support during the pandemic (compared to pre-pandemic perceptions). In addition, we found that those who reported receiving and providing more active-constructive support tended to report more positive well-being outcomes. Interestingly, passive-constructive support was also associated with greater well-being for recipients (counter to prior research that has shown it associated with only costs). Overall, our data suggests that capitalization support perceptions are associated with well-being even during the pandemic, but methods of capitalization support perceived may have shifted during the pandemic.