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The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
Published on: November 19, 2015
Differentiating the stress buffering functions of perceived versus received social support
Jian Raymond Rui1,2, Jieqiong Guo1
1South China University of Technology, 382 Waihuan East Rd, Guangzhou, 510006 China.
Abstract:
Drawing upon the stress buffering model of social support, this study investigated how perceived social support (PSS), defined as the amount of support individuals think they can mobilize from their network, and received social support (RSS), defined as the level of support individuals have received, moderated the direct and indirect relationships between COVID-19 news exposure (i.e., stressor) and stress via social trust. An online survey from six major cities in China (N = 636) revealed that PSS rather than RSS moderated the direct relationship between COVID-19 news exposure and stress such that this relationship was stronger at a low level of PSS than a high level. Additionally, RSS rather than PSS moderated the relationship between COVID-19 news exposure and social trust such that this relationship was stronger at a low level of RSS than a high level. These findings reveal the differential mechanisms by which PSS and RSS function to buffer against stress.
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