Stress Buffering Through Online Social Support Under Offline Constraints

Stress-buffering theory explains how perceived social support mitigates the negative effects of stress but offers limited guidance on when this buffering function varies across social contexts. Integrating stress-buffering and social compensation perspectives, this study examines online social support as a context-dependent form of support whose buffering role depends on constraints on face-to-face supportive communication. Two constraints are examined: chronic health conditions, which limit individuals' capacity to engage in in-person supportive interaction, and limited offline support availability, which restricts access to reliable face-to-face support. Using a U.S. survey (N = 2,650), analyses show that perceived online social support moderates the association between stress and quality of life, such that higher perceived online support is associated with a weaker negative association between stress and quality of life. Importantly, this stress-buffering association was stronger among individuals managing multiple chronic health conditions. A directionally consistent but non-confirmatory pattern was observed among individuals reporting lower offline support availability.