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Perceived support and adjustment to stress in a general population sample of female twins

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

R. C. Kessler ,
K. S. Kendler ,
A. Heath ,
M. C. Neale  and
L. J. Eaves
R. C. Kessler*
Affiliation:
Institute for Social ResearchDepartment of Sociology, University of Michigan; Department of Psychiatry and Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, USA
K. S. Kendler
Affiliation:
Institute for Social ResearchDepartment of Sociology, University of Michigan; Department of Psychiatry and Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, USA
A. Heath
Affiliation:
Institute for Social ResearchDepartment of Sociology, University of Michigan; Department of Psychiatry and Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, USA
M. C. Neale
Affiliation:
Institute for Social ResearchDepartment of Sociology, University of Michigan; Department of Psychiatry and Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, USA
L. J. Eaves
Affiliation:
Institute for Social ResearchDepartment of Sociology, University of Michigan; Department of Psychiatry and Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, USA
*
1 Address for correspondence: Dr Ronald C. Kessler, Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106–1248, USA
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Synopsis

The stress-buffering effect of perceived support is explored in a large panel survey of adult female twins. The analysis begins by documenting a significant interaction between perceived support and acute stress in predicting DSM-III-R major depression. Various hypotheses are investigated to explain this interaction. These include the possibilities that the interaction is due to a stress-buffering effect of perceived support which is mediated by received support, that perceived support promotes either the increased use or the increased effectiveness of certain coping strategies, or that there is some underlying genetic factor that affects both the perception of support and adjustment to stress. No evidence was found for any of these hypotheses. The paper closes with a discussion of directions for future research aimed at explaining the interaction between perceived support and acute stress.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , May 1994 , pp. 317 - 334
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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