ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces a conceptual framework that seeks to identify the specific mechanisms in the stress process. It examines key measurement issues and provides procedures for evaluating the model empirically. The chapter presents theoretical elaborations that involve potentially important limitations of the beneficial effects of social support. If stress affects individuals by diminishing their feelings of self-worth and personal control, then social support may help to maintain or restore a sense of well-being by bolstering these important resources. The chapter outlines procedures for identifying salient social roles. It explores the measurement strategies for assessing life events, feelings of personal control, and feelings of self-esteem that are associated with salient social roles. If the nonlinear hypothesis is correct, social support should have a positive effect on self-esteem in the low-support group. In contrast, social support should be negatively related to self-esteem in the high-support group, indicating that excessive amounts of support tend to diminish feelings of self-esteem.
