Adaptive Work and Family Behaviors Link Support to Mental Health During a Pandemic

Abstract

Although social support is widely studied, how support from multiple life domains coalesce to predict psychological health is not well-understood. We address a key unresolved issue in the social support literature - how social support relates to psychological health - by examining adaptive behavior as a mechanism through which support from work and family domains, during the COVID-19 pandemic, impacts psychological health. Given support may not equally benefit all, we consider individual differences in demographics as moderators in the relationships between support, adaptive behavior and health outcomes. We examine both within-domain and cross-domain effects of support on adaptive behavior using a sample of 392 employees who responded to two surveys, three weeks apart, shortly after the COVID-19 lockdown. Consistent with expectations, adaptive behavior both within and across domains mediated the relationships between social support and psychological health. Relationship between family support and adaptation in the family domain and psychological health were stronger among participants without a cohabiting partner. Our findings highlight the important role social support and adaptive behavior play in maintaining well-being during crisis events, particularly for persons without cohabiting partners.