Positive life events and social support and the relationship between life stress and psychological disorder

This study investigated the relationship between negative life events and psychological disorder and the roles of positive life events and received and perceived social support in moderating this relationship. A prospective design was used and statistical analyses were based on a hierarchical regression model. College undergraduates served as subjects. Negative events were significantly related to psychological disorder at each of two measurement periods. This relationship was found even when initial disorder was statistically controlled. The cross-sectional analyses, but not the prospective analyses, provided some support for the stress-buffering (interaction) effects of positive events. There was no support for the stress-buffering effects of received social support, but the cross-sectional and prospective regression analyses provided strong support for the stress-buffering effects of perceived social support.