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The buffer theory of social support – a review of the literature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Ruth Alloway  and
Paul Bebbington
Ruth Alloway
Affiliation:
Maudsley Hospital and MRC Social Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Paul Bebbington*
Affiliation:
Maudsley Hospital and MRC Social Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr P. Bebbington, MRC Social Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF.
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Synopsis

The buffer theory postulates that social support moderates the power of psychosocial adversity to precipitate episodes of illness. In this paper, we review the theory as applied to minor affective disturbances. Research in this area suffers because of the many disparate conceptualizations of social support and the resulting difficulty of deciding on the content of measures. Moreover, the meaning of the term buffering is itself unclear. These problems have not, however, inhibited research, and many cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have now been carried out. Our review leads to the conclusion that evidence for a buffering role of social support is inconsistent, reflecting methodological differences between studies but probably also indicating that buffering effects are not of dramatic proportions. Moreover, it is possible that the observed relationships are the result of spurious association or contamination of measures.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , February 1987 , pp. 91 - 108
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

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