GIVING VERSUS RECEIVING SOCIAL SUPPORT: AN ANALYSIS OF WHAT CONTRIBUTES THE MOST TO FAVORABLE LIFE OUTCOMES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20319/pijss.2017.32.762774Keywords:
Giving Versus Receiving, Social Support, Instrumental Support, Life Satisfaction, Marital SatisfactionAbstract
This study calls for the question whether providing help to others is more beneficial than receiving it. Thus the present study probed the relative contributions of giving versus receiving social support to life satisfaction, marital satisfaction and distress in a sample of 436 older married adults aged 43-66 years. Baseline indicators of giving and receiving support were used to predict the study variables. Adults also provided data on the measures of life satisfaction, marital satisfaction, and distress. Results from regression analyses indicated that life and marital satisfaction were significantly increased for individuals who reported providing instrumental support to friends, relatives, and neighbors, and individuals who reported providing emotional support to their spouse. Receiving support had no effect on life and marital satisfaction once giving support was taken into consideration. The results pertaining to distress showed the opposite findings for individuals who reported providing support than individuals receiving support. These results have implications for understanding how social contact influences life patterns, happiness, and mental health.
References
Antonucci, T. C., Fuhrer, R., & Jackson, J. S. (1991). Social support and reciprocity: A cross-ethnic and cross-national perspective. Journal of Social & Personal Relationships, 7, 519–530. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407590074008
Batson, C.D. (1998). Altruism and prosocial behavior. In D.T. Gilbert, S.T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology, 2, 282–316. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Brown, E., Orbuch, T. L., & Maharaj, A. (2010). Social Networks and Marital Stability Among Black American and White American Couples. Support Processes in Intimate Relationships,318-334. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195380170.003.0013
Brown, Nesse, Vinokur, & Smith (2003). Providing Social Support May Be More Beneficial Than Receiving It : Results From a Prospective Study of Mortality. Psychological Science, 14: 320. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.14461
Brown, R.M., Dahlen, E., Mills, C., Rick, J., & Biblarz, A. (1999). Evaluation of an evolutionary model of self-preservation and self-destruction. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 29(1), 58–71.
Brown, S. L. (1999). The origins of investment: A theory of close relationships. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Arizona State University, Tempe.
Brown, S. L., & Vinokur, A. D. (2003). The Interplay Among Risk Factors for Suicidal Ideation and Suicide: The Role of Depression, Poor Health, and Loved Ones Messages of Support and Criticism. American Journal of Community Psychology,32(1-2), 131-141. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025659210192
Brown, S. L., Smith, D. M., House, J. S., & Brown, R. M. (2003). “Coping with Spousal Loss: The Buffering Effects of Giving Social Support to Others.” Unpublished manuscript.
Cialdini, R. B., Brown, S. L., Lewis, B. P., Luce, C., and Neuberg, S. L. (1997). Reinterpreting the Empathy-Altruism Relationship: When One into One Equals Oneness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,73, 481–493. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.73.3.481
De Waal, F. B. (2008). Putting the altruism back into altruism: the evolution of empathy. Annu. Rev. Psychol., 59, 279-300. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093625
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71-75. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13
Hammerstein, P.(2003). Why is Reciprocity so Rare in Social Animals? A Protestant Appeal’, in P. Hammerstein (ed.) Genetic and Cultural Evolution of Cooperation, Cambridge MA: MIT Press.
House, J.S. (1981). Work, stress, and social support. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Kessler, R. C., Andrews, G., Colpe, .et al (2002) Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychological Medicine, 32, 959-956. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291702006074
Kitreerawutiwo, N., & Mekrungrongwong, S. (2015). Health behavior and health need assessment among elderly in rural community of Thailand: a sequential explanatory mixed methods study. LIFE: International Journal of Health and Life-Sciences, 1(2). https://dx.doi.org/10.20319/lijhls.2015.12.6269
Lehmann, L. and Keller, L.(2006). The Evolution of Cooperation and Altruism. A General Framework and Classification of Models’, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 19: 1365–1725. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2006.01119.x
Liang, J., Krause, N.M., & Bennett, J.M. (2001). Social exchange and well-being: Is giving better than receiving? Psychology and Aging, 16, 511–523. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.16.3.511
Lu, L., & Argyle, M. (1992). Receiving and giving support: Effects on relationships and well-being. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 5, 123–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515079208254456
Midlarsky, E. (1991). Helping as coping. In M.S. Clark (Ed.), Prosocial behavior (pp. 238–264). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Omoto, A.M., & Synder, M. (1995). Sustained helping without obligation: Motivation, longevity of service, and perceived attitude change among AIDS volunteers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 16, 152–166. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.68.4.671
Rossi, A.S. (2001). Caring and doing for others: Social responsibility in the domains of family, work, and community. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Schwartz, C., & Sendor, M. (2000). Helping others helps oneself: Response shift effects in peer support. In K. Schmaling (Ed.), Adaptation to changing health: Response shift in quality-of-life research (pp. 43–70). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10382-000 https://doi.org/10.1037/10382-012
Smith, C., Fernengel, K., Holcroft, C., Gerald, K., & Marien, L. (1994). Meta-analysis of the associations between social support and health outcomes. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 16, 352–362.
Spanier, G.B. (1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment: New scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38, 15–28. https://doi.org/10.2307/350547
Taylor, J., & Turner, J. (2001). A longitudinal study of the role and significance of mattering to others for depressive symptoms. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 42, 310–325. https://doi.org/10.2307/3090217
Taylor, R. J., Brown, E., Chatters, L. M., & Lincoln, K. D. (2011). Extended Family Support and Relationship Satisfaction Among Married, Cohabiting, and Romantically Involved African Americans and Black Caribbeans. Journal of African American Studies,16(3), 373-389. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-011-9205-y
Taylor, R. J., Chatters, L. M., Woodward, A. T., & Brown, E. (2013). Racial and Ethnic Differences in Extended Family, Friendship, Fictive Kin, and Congregational Informal Support Networks. Family Relations,62(4), 609-624. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12030
Wilson, J., & Musick, M. (1999). The effects of volunteering on the volunteer. Law and Contemporary Problems, 62, 141–168. https://doi.org/10.2307/1192270
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2017 Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
