Social Support in Marriage

Abstract

Social support is a widely used construct in the psychological literature. Although multiple conceptions of the construct have been offered, an issue common to many analyses is the extent to which support is perceived or experienced by recipients of "supportive" behaviors. In this chapter, we offer a cognitive framework designed to illuminate the construct of "perceived support." Our analysis focuses on perceived support in marriage, as this relationship provides a relatively homogeneous context within which to examine a number of important issues regarding social support, the resolution of which may have implications for the literature on social support in general. This chapter does not attempt, however, to redefine social support, provide a new theory of social support processes in marriage, or argue that support processes in marriage are fundamentally different from support obtained in other enduring, intimate relationships. Mindful of the need for new perspectives in the social support area that integrate the influences of social context with concern for the match of specific Stressors to socially supportive responses and the cognitive component of support (e. g., Pierce, Sarason, & Sarason, 1990; I. G. Sarason, B. R. Sarason, & Pierce, 1994), we provide herein a cognitive framework for examining the impact of supportive (and nonsupportive) transactions on "perceived support."