Women's life strains, social support, coping, and positive and negative affect: Cross-sectional and longitudinal tests of the tko-factor theory of emotional wefi-being

Abstract

This research examined the relationships between life strains, social support, coping, and positive and negative affect among 90 women at three different interviews over an 18-month period. Predictions were derived from previous research and the two-factor theory of emotional well-being. Two-factor theory asserts that positive affect and negative affect are relatively independent dimensions and that they have distinctly different correlates. It was predicted that life strains would be related to negative affect, but not to positive affect. However, life strains were related to both of these variables. As predicted, enacted support and coping were correlated with positive affect, but not with negative affect. Cross-sectional and longitudinal regression analyses showed that life strains, social support, and coping combined in additive models to predict positive affect, suggesting that support and coping have a “health-enhancing” effect on positive affect. However, life strains interacted with support and coping to predict negative affect. In these analyses, both support and coping buffered the effects of life strains, suggesting that social support has a “health-protecting” effect on negative affect. Overall, the results demonstrated the utility of two-factor theory for research on women's life strains, support, coping, and affect.