ABSTRACT

Despite a dramatic growth of interest in the effects of social support over the past decade, fundamental problems of research methods have not been resolved and still interfere with the advancement of work in this area. For example, controversy still exists over whether standard statistical approaches for estimating the stress-buffering effects of support are appropriate (Landerman, George, Campbell, & Blazer, 1989). This chapter focuses on one limited class of these methodological problems, involving the interpretation of the relationship between perceived support and adjustment to stress. I argue that issues of measurement, design, and analysis must all be addressed with an appreciation of the substantive complexities involved in interpreting the effects of perceived support if methodological roadblocks are to be removed in this area of research. The discussion of these methodological issues begins by reviewing what I consider to be the core substantive issues in interpreting the effects of perceived support. I then propose three types of research designs that I consider particularly promising avenues for future development. Measurement and analysis issues associated with these designs are also discussed.