Negative social exchange and perceived stress: do relationships influence a person’s stress appraisal?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Perceived stress is strongly related to a person’s mental health and risk for disease and disability. Negative social exchange is a pervasive source of negative interaction that influences a person’s stress perceptions. Using an egocentric network design (N = 277), the current study explores the relationship between the intensity, frequency, and duration of negative social exchange and perceptions of stress among young (ages 18–35) and middle adults (ages 36–55). The final models explained 35% and 43% of the variance in measures of stress. Findings from the study support previous research suggesting that networks of negative relationships are related to a person’s psychological health.