Role Of Emotional Social Support Research Articles

Consequences of technostress for users in remote (home) work contexts during a time of crisis: The buffering role of emotional social support

The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered a substantial increase in the adoption of remote work. However, this shift towards remote work can potentially cause technostress (TS) due to the constant use of information and communication technology (ICT). Research suggests that receiving emotional social support (ESS) from one's social network can mitigate the negative effects of technostress. However, previous studies in the information systems (IS) field have yielded inconclusive results regarding the role of ESS in moderating the relationship between TS, strain, and work satisfaction. Drawing on the transactional theory of stress, our model conceptualizes the effect of TS on work satisfaction as being fully mediated by strain, and the effects of TS on strain and work satisfaction as being moderated by ESS. To test our model, we collected data from 306 ICT users who remotely worked from home during the lockdown period. After accounting for marital and parental statuses, our results reveal that: (a) TS increased the strain experienced by ICT users, subsequently resulting in decreased work satisfaction. (b) ESS mitigated the direct effect of TS on strain and the indirect effect of TS on work satisfaction. These findings highlight the potential benefits of ESS in remote work contexts.

Social participation and depressive symptoms in community-dwelling older adults: Emotional social support as a mediator

Previous studies have documented the protective effects of social participation on depression in older adults. In this study, we investigated the association between social participation and depressive symptoms and the associated gender difference in older adults. In addition, we explored the mediating role of emotional social support in the association between social participation and depressive symptoms. We collected data from 4751 community-dwelling adults aged 60 and above from the Korean Retirement and Income Study (KReIS) conducted in 2017 and 2018. The relationship between social participation (participation in different types of activities, frequency of participation, and the number of activities participated) and the risk for depressive symptoms was examined. Older adults who participated in social activity, volunteer work, and donation had decreased risk of depressive symptoms. More frequent and more diverse participation in activities further reduced the risk. Overall, women benefited more from social participation than men. Importantly, emotional social support significantly mediated the relationship between social participation and depressive symptoms. Social participation was associated lower odds for depression in older adults, particularly in older women. Our findings provided one of very few pieces of evidence that documents the mediating role of emotional social support in the relationship between social participation and depression among the elderly.

Emotional social support and job burnout among high-school teachers: is it all due to dispositional affectivity?

The authors investigated whether the relationship between the contents of emotional social support and job burnout among high-school teachers is spurious because of the role of dispositional positive and negative affectivity. A national sample of 339 teachers was surveyed via a web-based procedure. Hierarchical regression analyses did not support spuriousness; emotional social support was uniquely predictive of three dimensions of burnout controlling for affectivity. As positive emotional social support increased, emotional exhaustion and cynicism decreased, and professional efficacy increased. As negative emotional social support increased, emotional exhaustion and cynicism also increased. Commonality analyses based on the present data and data reported by K. L. Zellars and P. L. Perrewé (2001; Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 459–467) provided additional support for the unique role of emotional social support on burnout, but these analyses suggest a greater role of affectivity than emotional social support. These findings have implications for research on burnout as well as the prevention of burnout among teachers. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The role of emotional social support in the psychological adjustment of siblings of children with cancer.

Siblings of children with cancer are at risk for reduced emotional support. The role of emotional social support in the psychological adjustment of siblings of paediatric cancer patients was examined, in the context of age and gender. The sample consisted of two groups of siblings of children being treated for cancer: siblings referred for behaviour problems (n = 47) and a comparison group of non-referred siblings (n = 25). Forty-two were female, and 30 were male. The mean age was 10.31 years (SD = 2.71). Siblings completed measures of depression, anxiety, behaviour, and emotional social support. One parent of each sibling completed measures of sibling's behaviour and anxiety. Siblings who reported more social support endorsed significantly fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety, and fewer behaviour problems, and their parents reported less anxiety and fewer behaviour problems than siblings who reported lower social support. Parents of referred siblings reported significantly more behaviour problems than parents of non-referred siblings. Referred adolescent females reported significantly higher depression scores and were perceived as more anxious than referred adolescent males and non-referred adolescent females. Non-referred younger siblings with high social support were perceived by their parents as having the fewest behaviour problems. High level of social support appears to play a protective role in psychological adjustment of siblings of paediatric cancer patients, with age and gender as modifying factors. Although not all siblings develop behaviour or emotional problems, it is critical to identify those who do in order to intervene accordingly.