Social support and strain from partner, family, and friends: Costs and benefits for men and women in adulthood

The goals of this study were to (i) examine the association of social suppo rt and strain with psychological well-being and health, (ii) investigate wh ether these associations depended on relationship-type (partner, family, fr iend), (iii) examine the buffering effects of support on strain (both withi n and across relationship-type), and (iv) test the extent to which these as sociations differed by age and sex. The sample contained 2,348 adults (55% male) aged 25 to 75 years (M = 46.3), who were married or cohabitating. Pos itive and negative social exchanges were more strongly related to psycholog ical wellbeing than to health. For both sexes, partner support and strain a nd family support were predictive of well-being measures; partner strain wa s also predictive of health problems. However, family strain was predictive of well-being and health outcomes more often for women. Further, while we did find evidence that supportive networks could buffer the detrimental eff ects of strained interactions, friends and family served a buffering role m ore often for women than for men.