Personal disruptions, social integration, subjective well-being, and predisposition toward the use of counseling services.

Abstract

The importance of social integration for the subjective well-being and predisposition toward professional counseling services of persons experiencing personal disruptions is explored among 1,423 northwest Wisconsin residents. Considerable support is found for the hypothesis that greater contact with close friends diminishes the effect of personal disruptions (health problems, marital break-up, and unemployment) on individual well-being. Some evidence is found in favor of the proposition that greater contact with close friends for those with disruptions reduces the inclination to use professional counselors. And, unexpectedly, the frequency of interaction with friends for those without stressful events is not found to significantly influence the level of morale. Friendship ties and counseling services are suggested as alternative resources for persons in crisis, and the relevance of findings on social integration, personal disruptions, and morale for models of subjective well-being is discussed.