| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
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The latter hypothesis views social support as creating a sense of being embedded in a social network that generates a feeling of belonging and provides access to a variety of supportive resources (Berkman & Syme, 1979; House, Robbins, & Metzner, 1982; Schoenbach, Kaplan, Fredman, & Kleinbaum, 1986; White & Cant, 2003). However, the strength of either of these axioms has been attenuated by contradictory findings and methodological problems (Berkman, 1985; Kiesler, 1985).
The hypothesis that social support acts as a buffer to stress stems from the finding that although stressful events create psychosocial distress, for some individuals the number of stressful life events does not correspond with the amount of psychosocial distress experienced (Hinkle, 1974; Thoits, 1982). The buffering hypothesis suggests that the presence of adequate social support enhances an individual’s ability to cope with stressful events, buffering the amount of psychosocial distress experienced (Jackson, 1992; Pearlin & Aneshensel, 1986; Wallace, 2005). Thus, social support exerts a positive influence on health by diminishing the negative effects of stressful life events (Gore, 1978).
Research has provided support for the buffer hypothesis, however, conceptual and methodological conflicts within this camp have not been adjudicated. Conceptually there is disagreement regarding the notion of coping with stress as either cognitive knowledge of potential resources (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980; House, 1981) or as the activity of coping (Gore, 1985; Pearlin, 1985). Some theorists believe the mere knowledge of social support as a potential resource for coping with a stressful event will attenuate the amount of distress the event causes (French, Rogers, & Cobb, 1974; House, 1981; Lazarus & Launier, 1978).