The Relative Contribution of Trait and Social Influences to the Links Among Perceived Social Support, Affect, and Self-Esteem

Although perceived support is influenced by both the personality traits of support recipients as well as various social factors, it is unknown to what extent these two types of influences account for perceived support's link to mental health. We investigated these relations using multivariate g...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality 2005-04, Vol.73 (2), p.361-388
Main Authors: Lakey, Brian, Scoboria, Alan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Affect
Affectivity
Biological and medical sciences
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Male
Mental health
Middle Aged
Perceived social support
Perceptions
Personality
Personality traits
Personality. Affectivity
Positive affect
Predictors
Psychological Theory
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Self Concept
Self image
Self-esteem
Selfesteem
Social Behavior
Social conflict
Social factors
Social interaction
Social Support
Statistical analysis
Surveys and Questionnaires
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Although perceived support is influenced by both the personality traits of support recipients as well as various social factors, it is unknown to what extent these two types of influences account for perceived support's link to mental health. We investigated these relations using multivariate generalizability analyses. In three samples, both the trait and social influence components of perceived support were related to favorable affect and to self‐esteem. The magnitude of the correlations between perceived support and mental health was similar for both the trait and social influence components. Similar findings were obtained for social conflict, although the links between conflict and mental health varied somewhat depending upon the level of analysis. These findings suggest that social support theories and interventions should include both trait and social mechanisms to explain and modify perceived support and mental health.
ISSN:0022-3506
1467-6494
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00312.x