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Updated: Jun 11, 2025

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
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Genetic Influence on Social Support: A Twin Study.

Bodine M A Gonggrijp1,2, Steve G A van de Weijer1, Jenny van Dongen2,3

  • 1Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

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Genetic factors influence social support, with heritability estimated at 37%. This finding challenges the view of social support as purely environmental, highlighting its complex origins in aging populations.

Keywords:
HeritabilityNetherlands Twin RegisterPerceived social supportTwins

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Genetics
  • Social Psychology
  • Gerontology

Background:

  • Social support is traditionally viewed as an environmental health factor, particularly for aging individuals.
  • Emerging evidence suggests potential genetic influences on social support, necessitating further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the heritability of social support.
  • To determine the contributions of genetic and environmental factors to social support quality.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a threshold model analysis on a large twin sample (N=8019) from the Netherlands Twin Register.
  • Assessed social support quality using the Duke - UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire.
  • Data collected between 2009 and 2011.

Main Results:

  • Heritability of social support was estimated at 37%.
  • No significant contribution from the shared environment was found.
  • Heritability estimates did not differ between men and women.

Conclusions:

  • Social support is influenced by genetic factors, not solely environmental ones.
  • The findings underscore the complex interplay of genetic and environmental influences on social support.
  • Challenges the perception of social support as exclusively an environmental construct.