Where is the Support in Perceived Support? The Role of Generic Relationship Satisfaction and Enacted Support in Perceived Support's Relation to Low Distress

This study examined the roles of enacted support and generic relationship satisfaction in accounting for perceived support's relation to low emotional distress in a sample of mothers caring for infants with serious congenital heart defects. Although questionnaire measures of enacted support were related moderately to perceived support, neither questionnaire- nor interview-assessed enacted support predicted low emotional distress. Generic relationship satisfaction was more strongly related to the perceived supportiveness of network members than was enacted support. Further, the link between perceived supportiveness and participants' low emotional distress was redundant completely with generic relationship satisfaction. These findings raise questions about the extent to which measures of perceived support reflect processes unique to social support versus more generic relationship evaluations.