Social Support in Marriage

The current study examines the role of perceived adequacy of social support provided by spouses for both marital and individual functioning. Married individuals from a college sample (N = 177) recorded the adequacy of specific supportive behaviors provided by the spouse on a daily basis for 7 days. Perceived support adequacy was correlated in the expected direction with marital quality, depressive symptomatology, and perceived stress. Furthermore, hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that perceived support adequacy accounts for significant unique variance in marital quality, depressive symptomatology, and perceived stress, even after controlling for social desirability. Discussion focuses on limitations of the study and implications of the findings for clinical work with couples.

[1]  T. Bradbury,et al.  Social support, conflict, and the development of marital dysfunction. , 1998, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[2]  Kenneth J. Linfield,et al.  A New Look at Marital Quality: Can Spouses Feel Positive and Negative About Their Marriage? , 1997 .

[3]  Bert N. Uchino,et al.  The relationship between social support and physiological processes: a review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and implications for health. , 1996, Psychological bulletin.

[4]  B R Karney,et al.  The longitudinal course of marital quality and stability: a review of theory, method, and research. , 1995, Psychological bulletin.

[5]  T. Revenson,et al.  Relative contributions of spousal support and illness appraisals to depressed mood in arthritis patients. , 1995, Arthritis care and research : the official journal of the Arthritis Health Professions Association.

[6]  J. Suhr,et al.  Controllability of Stressful Events and Satisfaction With Spouse Support Behaviors , 1992 .

[7]  H. Markman,et al.  Social Support and Social Networks as Determinants of Individual and Marital Outcomes , 1991 .

[8]  E. Gritz,et al.  Long-term effects of testicular cancer on marital relationships. , 1990, Psychosomatics.

[9]  David H. Barlow,et al.  Depression in Marriage: A Model for Etiology and Treatment , 1990 .

[10]  M. Power.  Stress-buffering effects of social support: A longitudinal study , 1988 .

[11]  Rogers Kr.  Nature of spousal supportive behaviors that influence heart transplant patient compliance. , 1987 .

[12]  P. Thoits.  Social support as coping assistance. , 1986, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[13]  Walter R. Schumm,et al.  Concurrent and discriminant validity of the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale. , 1986 .

[14]  R. Kessler,et al.  Perceived support, received support, and adjustment to stressful life events. , 1986, Journal of health and social behavior.

[15]  T. Wills,et al.  Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. , 1985, Psychological bulletin.

[16]  T. Kamarck,et al.  A global measure of perceived stress. , 1983, Journal of health and social behavior.

[17]  W. Schumm,et al.  Characteristics of Responses to the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale by a Sample of 84 Married Mothers , 1983 .

[18]  M. Weissman,et al.  Marital disputes and treatment outcome in depressed women. , 1979, Comprehensive psychiatry.

[19]  N. Lin,et al.  Social support, stressful life events, and illness: a model and an empirical test. , 1979, Journal of health and social behavior.

[20]  J. Cassel.  The contribution of the social environment to host resistance: the Fourth Wade Hampton Frost Lecture. , 1976, American journal of epidemiology.

[21]  Vernon H. Edmonds.  Marital Conventionalization: Definition and Measurement , 1967 .

[22]  A. Beck,et al.  An inventory for measuring depression. , 1961, Archives of general psychiatry.

[23]  D. M. Wolfe,et al.  Husbands and Wives, the Dynamics of Married Living , 1961 .

[24]  H. Locke,et al.  SHORT MARITAL ADJUSTMENT AND PREDICTION TESTS: THEIR RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY , 1959 .

[25]  C. Cutrona.  Social Support as a Determinant of Marital Quality , 1996 .

[26]  J. Suhr,et al.  Social support communication in the context of marriage: An analysis of couples' supportive interactions. , 1994 .

[27]  G. Downey,et al.  Social factors and psychopathology: stress, social support, and coping processes. , 1991, Annual review of psychology.

[28]  K. Rogers.  Nature of spousal supportive behaviors that influence heart transplant patient compliance. , 1987, The Journal of heart transplantation.

[29]  D. K. Judd.  RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION AND MENTAL HEALTH , 1986 .

[30]  S. Beach,et al.  Extramarital sex: impact on depression and commitment in couples seeking marital therapy. , 1985, Journal of sex & marital therapy.

[31]  D. West,et al.  Risk factors and the prevalence of depression in Mormon women. , 1984, Social science & medicine.

[32]  Scott Henderson,et al.  Neurosis and the Social Environment , 1982 .

[33]  R. Burke,et al.  Marital Helping Relationships: The Moderators Between Stress and Well-Being , 1977 .

[34]  G. Spanier.  Measuring Dyadic Adjustment: new scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads , 1976 .

[35]  R. Weiss.  The provisions of social relationships , 1974 .

[36]  D. M. Wolfe,et al.  Husbands and Wives: The Dynamics of Married Living , 1961 .