Social support, life events, and psychological distress among the Puerto Rican population in the Boston area of the United States

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this article is to investigate the role of social network support in ameliorating the psychological impact of life stressors that are prevalent for the older Puerto Rican population. Method: Social support was measured through the Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire, and psychological distress through the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale and the Perceived Stress Scale. We describe the life stressors (Norbeck Life Events) faced by Puerto Ricans and their implications for psychological distress. We present associations between depression, perceived stress, social support, and socio-demographic indicators. The role of social network support–emotional and instrumental–in buffering the effect of negative events is examined. Attention is given to the interacting effect of gender and the type of support. Results: The analysis shows that dimensions of social support, particularly emotional support, are generally protective of psychological health. However, when delineating the moderating effects of gender, social support is beneficial for men, but manifestly less so for women. Emotional, tangible support and duration of social contacts show a moderate effect on the impact of life stressors on psychological distress which, however, is in a direction opposite to that proposed by the buffering hypothesis. Discussion: Social ties are generally protective, but may also be contributing, particularly for women, to increased psychological distress in the face of stressful life events.