108 COPING RESOURCES
presence of stressors. Second, social support may buffer or moderate the impact of
stressors on health so that it only benefits those facing threats (see Focus 5.2). In a
review of early literature, Cohen and Wills (1985) found evidence of direct effects
for structural supports (e.g. when measures of social networks are used), but buffering
was sometimes found when studies focused on close relationships. Uchino et al. (1996)
confirmed this finding. Studies tend to find buffering effects when measures of en-
acted supports are used. It is perhaps not surprising that, when close family or friends
provide specific supports in response to a particular stressful situation, this buffers
the stress, while simply having a large social network may not have the same effect.
Social support may also have a positive impact on health through its effect on health
behaviour (i.e. the social support–health relationship is mediated by health behaviours).
Finally, it is also possible that the level of social support available to an individual is a
stable indi vidual difference that is linked to personality traits (e.g. agreeableness or lack
of hostility, see Chapter 6). However, Uchino et al. (1996) concluded that relationships
between social support and health occur even where personality variables are
controlled.
Finally, it is also worth considering the impact of social support on the provider of
the support. We saw in Chapter 2 that carers of Alzheimer’s patients showed slower
wound-healing than matched controls (Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 1995), a clear instance of
Can social support ever be bad for you?In some situations social support can be unhelpful. We have seen that this is the
case where there is a mismatch between our needs and the support provided. It is
also not unusual for researchers to find that social support provided in the work
situation is not beneficial (e.g. Uchino et al., 1996). Support at work, especially from
a supervisor, may make the recipient feel incompetent and so is not experienced as
helpful. This idea was tested in an experimental study by Deelstra et al. (2003),
which imposed instrumental support and found that negative affect was higher and
self-esteem was lower when support was given, except when the problem could
not have been solved without it. These effects were confirmed by physiological
indicators (e.g. pulse rate).
Similarly, social networks may not always be supportive For example, in a study
of widowed women (aged 60–69), Rook (1984) found a stronger relationship
between problematic relationships and reduced well-being than between positive
relationships and improved well-being. Furthermore, most of those relationships
identified as ‘problematic’ were friends or relatives. The researchers suggested that
many of these unhelpful relationships were not seen to be egalitarian, i.e. others
were making decisions for them. There is also evidence from a meta-analysis that
negative aspects of social relationships may have a negative impact on the immune
system (Herbert and Cohen, 1993).FOCUS 5.5