Examines whether the positive association between social support and well-being is attributable more to an overall beneficial effect of support (main- or direct-effect model) or to a process of support protecting persons from potentially adverse effects of stressful events (buffering model). The review of studies is organized according to (1) whether a measure assesses support structure (the existence of relationships) or function (the extent to which one's interpersonal relationships provide particular resources) and (2) the degree of specificity (vs globality) of the scale. Special attention is given to methodological characteristics that are requisite for a fair comparison of the models. It is concluded that there is evidence consistent with both models. Evidence for the buffering model is found when the social support measure assesses the perceived availability of interpersonal resources that are responsive to the needs elicited by stressful events. Evidence for a main effect model is found when the support measure assesses a person's degree of integration in a large social network. Both conceptualizations of social support are correct in some respects, but each represents a different process through which social support may affect well-being. Implications for theories of social support processes and for the design of preventive interventions are discussed.

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Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis.

This paper presents a critical appraisal of resilience, a construct connoting the maintenance of positive adaptation by individuals despite experiences of significant adversity. As empirical research on resilience has burgeoned in recent years, criticisms have been levied at work in this area. These critiques have generally focused on ambiguities in definitions and central terminology; heterogeneity in risks experienced and competence achieved by individuals viewed as resilient; instability of the phenomenon of resilience; and concerns regarding the usefulness of resilience as a theoretical construct. We address each identified criticism in turn, proposing solutions for those we view as legitimate and clarifying misunderstandings surrounding those we believe to be less valid. We conclude that work on resilience possesses substantial potential for augmenting the understanding of processes affecting at-risk individuals. Realization of the potential embodied by this construct, however, will remain constrained without continued scientific attention to some of the serious conceptual and methodological pitfalls that have been noted by skeptics and proponents alike.

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The Construct of Resilience: A Critical Evaluation and Guidelines for Future Work

The establishment of measurement invariance across groups is a logical prerequisite to conducting substantive cross-group comparisons (e.g., tests of group mean differences, invariance of structura...

A Review and Synthesis of the Measurement Invariance Literature: Suggestions, Practices, and Recommendations for Organizational Research

The greater power of bad events over good ones is found in everyday events, major life events (e.g., trauma), close relationship outcomes, social network patterns, interpersonal interactions, and learning processes. Bad emotions, bad parents, and bad feedback have more impact than good ones, and bad information is processed more thoroughly than good. The self is more motivated to avoid bad self-definitions than to pursue good ones. Bad impressions and bad stereotypes are quicker to form and more resistant to disconfirmation than good ones. Various explanations such as diagnosticity and salience help explain some findings, but the greater power of bad events is still found when such variables are controlled. Hardly any exceptions (indicating greater power of good) can be found. Taken together, these findings suggest that bad is stronger than good, as a general principle across a broad range of psychological phenomena.

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Bad is Stronger than Good

Background 
The quality and quantity of individuals' social relationships has been linked not only to mental health but also to both morbidity and mortality.
Objectives 
This meta-analytic review was conducted to determine the extent to which social relationships influence risk for mortality, which aspects of social relationships are most highly predictive, and which factors may moderate the risk.
Data Extraction 
Data were extracted on several participant characteristics, including cause of mortality, initial health status, and pre-existing health conditions, as well as on study characteristics, including length of follow-up and type of assessment of social relationships.
Results 
Across 148 studies (308,849 participants), the random effects weighted average effect size was OR = 1.50 (95% CI 1.42 to 1.59), indicating a 50% increased likelihood of survival for participants with stronger social relationships. This finding remained consistent across age, sex, initial health status, cause of death, and follow-up period. Significant differences were found across the type of social measurement evaluated (p<0.001); the association was strongest for complex measures of social integration (OR = 1.91; 95% CI 1.63 to 2.23) and lowest for binary indicators of residential status (living alone versus with others) (OR = 1.19; 95% CI 0.99 to 1.44).
Conclusions 
The influence of social relationships on risk for mortality is comparable with well-established risk factors for mortality.

Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary

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Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review

Le concept de support social doit etre abandonne au profit de concepts plus pertinents fondes sur les modeles de relations entre stress et detresse

Distinctions between social support concepts, measures, and models

Growing research interest in social support underscores the need for reliable and valid measures of this concept. It is argued that measures that assess what indivMuals actually do by way of providing support make unique contributions to our understanding of natural helping processes. A 40item scale, the Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors (ISSB), was developed in which respondents report the frequency with which they were the recipients of supportive actions. Results suggest that the ISSB has adequate test-retest and internal consistency reliability and is significantly correlated with network size and perceived support of the family. Although further research is needed to further substantiate its utility, the ISSB is seen as a promising tool for understanding natural helping processes. When people are asked to indicate who they turn to in times of crisis and emotional distress, they typically cite key family members and friends who they consider "natural helpers" (Gurin, Veroff, & Feld, 1960; Croog, Lipson, & Levine, 1972; Keefe, Padilla, & Carlos, 1978). Particularly since Caplan's (1974) influential work, the term social support has been popularized to connote the various forms of aid and assistance supplied by family members, friends, neighbors, and others. Support networks formed by these informal helpers are thought to have a major

Preliminary development of a scale of social support: Studies on college students

A dynamic tension has developed in prevention science regarding two imperatives: (a) fidelity of implementation—the delivery of a manualized prevention intervention program as prescribed by the program developer, and (b) program adaptation—the modification of program content to accommodate the needs of a specific consumer group. This paper examines this complex programmatic issue from a community-based participatory research approach for program adaptation that emphasizes motivating community participation to enhance program outcomes. Several issues, key concepts, and implementation strategies are presented under a strategic approach to address issues of fidelity and adaptation. Despite the noted tension between fidelity and adaptation, both are essential elements of prevention intervention program design and they are best addressed by a planned, organized, and systematic approach. Towards this aim, an innovative program design strategy is to develop hybrid prevention programs that “build in” adaptation to enhance program fit while also maximizing fidelity of implementation and program effectiveness.

The cultural adaptation of prevention interventions: resolving tensions between fidelity and fit.

The growth of research on social support has led to a comparable proliferation in the ways it is conceptualized and operationalized. The overall purpose of the present paper was to bring some clarity to this concept by critically examining how it has been presented in the literature and by proposing both rationally and empirically derived typologies for organizing social support functions. From a review of prominent discussions of support functions, a rational typology was proposed that included six categories: Material Aid, Behavioral Assistance, Intimate Interaction, Feedback, and Positive Social Interaction. To empirically examine the structure of social support, a factor analysis was conducted on items from a scale of socially supportive behaviors. The four factors that subsequently emerged were labeled Directive Guidance, Non-directive Support, Positive Social Interaction, and Tangible Assistance. Application of these findings to the assessment of support and future research on support/well-being relationships were discussed.

The structure of social support: a conceptual and empirical analysis.

The past decade has witnessed a resurgence of interest in behavioral interventions for depression. This contemporary work is grounded in the work of Lewinsohn and colleagues, which laid a foundation for future clinical practice and science. This review thus summarizes the origins of a behavioral model of depression and the behavioral activation (BA) approach to the treatment and prevention of depression. We highlight the formative initial work by Lewinsohn and colleagues, the evolution of this work, and related contemporary research initiatives, such as that led by Jacobson and colleagues. We examine the diverse ways in which BA has been investigated over time and its emerging application to a broad range of populations and problems. We close with reflections on important directions for future inquiry.

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Manuel Barrera

Papers

Distinctions between social support concepts, measures, and models

Preliminary development of a scale of social support: Studies on college students

The cultural adaptation of prevention interventions: resolving tensions between fidelity and fit.

The structure of social support: a conceptual and empirical analysis.

The origins and current status of behavioral activation treatments for depression.