Underestimation of Social Support Buffering

Abstract

Most theory and practice in the helping professions assumes that informal social support acts as a buffer against stress, reducing its negative consequences on the stressed individual Despite many social psychological studies, the validity of this assumption has been difficult to establish empirically. This article argues that skepticism regarding the genuineness and importance of this hypothesized support buffering interaction is misplaced. This skepticism has been answered by well-designed and analyzed research. The article offers an analysis of why the significance of this buffering interaction may have been underestimated in earlier research, including hypotheses concerning the effect of stress severity on buffering.