Relationships and Health 391women’s and men’s health. One central
aspect of quality is how household chores
and child care are divided in the fam-
ily. Thus I describe the division of labor,
examine predictors of the division of
labor, and discuss the implications of the
division of labor for relationship satisfac-
tion and well-being. Then, I discuss an-
other primary relationship—parenthood.
I examine how women and men construe
parenthood as well as its links to health.
Finally, relationships also can go awry.
I briefly describe the research on intimate
partner violence and on rape, and then
examine their implications for health.
Effect of Social Support on Health
We have relationships with family, friends,
neighbors, and coworkers. These relation-
ships have the potential to act as sources of
social support, which can influence health.
Do women and men differ in the amount
of support they receive from network mem-
bers? Does support from network members
lead to the same health benefits for women
and men? First, I review the literature that
compares the nature of men’s and women’s
social support. Then, I turn to the question
of how support is related to health for men
and women.Sex Comparisons
There are quantitative and qualitative di-
mensions of support. Quantitative dimen-
sions are referred to asstructural measures
(of support); these measures typically assess
the size of a social network or the number
of social relations. Qualitative dimensions
are referred to asfunctional measures(of support)because they address the ques-
tion of what functions networks serve. Net-
work members may provide emotional
support (love, caring, concern), instrumental
support (concrete assistance, such as run-
ning an errand), or informational support
(guidance, advice). In an early review of
the literature on gender and support, Belle
(1987) concluded that women’s networks
were more “intensive” but men’s networks
were more “extensive.” This would suggest
that women come out ahead on the func-
tional aspects of support, but men come out
ahead on the structural aspects of support.
It is unclear whether there are sex dif-
ferences in structural measures of support.
Some studies show that men have larger so-
cial networks compared to women (Berkman,
Vaccarino, & Seeman, 1993), but other stud-
ies show just the opposite (Pugliesi & Shook,
1998). Sex differences in support functions
are more clear. Women are more likely than
men to perceive that support is available
from network members (Kendler, Myers, &
Prescott, 2005) starting in early adolescence
(Rueger, Malecki, & Demaray, 2010), and
this is especially the case for emotional sup-
port. Women are more likely than men to
have someone available to talk to when they
are distressed (Matthews, Stansfeld, & Power,
1999). These findings generalize across many
cultures (Okamoto & Tanaka, 2004). These
sex differences may have more to do with the
female gender role than female sex. Feminin-
ity, or communion, is related to perceived
support more than sex (Helgeson & Fritz,
1998; Reevy & Maslach, 2001).
There are a number of reasons why
men lack support compared to women. One
reason is that men are more reluctant than
women to ask for help. The male gender
role’s emphasis on independence and invul-
nerability inhibits men from asking for helpM11_HELG0185_04_SE_C11.indd 391 6/21/11 12:43 PM