Social Support and the Study of Personal Relationships

The study of social support as a resource for resisting stress has been pursued independently of its role in the initiation and maintenance of personal relationships. Moreover, the tendency to define and measure support, like loneliness, in psychological rather than transactional terms will further limit knowledge about the conduct of close relationships. While psychological or perceived support is strongly coloured by personality variables and is not an accurate predictor of the support that actually materializes, it does play a critical role in the cognitive appraisal process. In contrast, experienced or received support figures centrally in the actual coping process. In addition there are covert, unintentional, and indirect forms of support that have been overlooked due to researchers' exclusive focus on the prosocial potential and behaviours of the social network. The article concludes by spotlighting two topics warranting integrative research in the fields of personal relationships and social support.